A Southern California woman has gone missing from a yoga retreat in a well-known tourist area in Guatemala and her family says it has been a "living hell" trying to gather information about her disappearance. Nancy Ng, 29, left her home in Monterey Park on October 14 to participate in a week-long excursion at Lake Atitlan, as stated by her family.
Ng, an avid yoga enthusiast, had previously participated in the same retreat the year before. Her sister Nicky mentioned that Ng had such a positive experience that she was eager to attend the retreat again. However, Ng vanished while staying near Lake Atitlán, a large body of water located within a volcanic crater.
Mysterious Disappearance
On October 19, Ng's family stopped receiving any communication from her, and the organizer of the retreat said that they were not able to locate the yoga enthusiast. Even worse, her family has been unable to get any information about the day she went missing or contact anyone who may have seen her.
"The last two weeks have been a living hell because when we first got the news that she was missing, we just had so many questions," Nancy's sister Nicky Ng told KTLA.
"What happened? Where is she now? Is there a chance she's alive? We didn't know anything."
The precise timing of Ng's disappearance remains unclear. Her family said that Ng, previously a law student at Cal State who currently helps students with disabilities at the Alhambra Unified School District, was reported missing on October 19.
"Last year, she woke up every morning just to spend some time there by herself without the group and this year was going to be more exciting because they had planned activities on the lake."
Following her disappearance, Ng's family has been in contact with the State Department, the FBI, and local search and rescue teams in Guatemala.
Desperate Search On
Ng's family has also hired a team in Guatemala specializing in search and rescue operations. This team has used divers and drones to find her. The search has covered around 95 percent of the lake, according to the family's statements.
"We don't know where she went in, where she went missing because there's no corroboration of that," said Chris Sharpe, who runs Black Wolf Helicopters and is part of the search.
"We've got a rough idea, but it varies from one side of the lake to the other."
As per Sharpe, people who might have been in Nancy's company on the day she disappeared have not been cooperative in providing information. This lack of cooperation has made it increasingly challenging to develop leads in the case.
"My role here is just to make sure no stone is left unturned and make sure that we try everything we can possible," her brother Jonathan Ng said.
Nancy, the eldest among four siblings, has a fondness for adventure and holds a deep passion for yoga, hiking, and exploring new places, her family noted in a GoFundMe campaign set up help in the search efforts.
"She has a kind heart, a big smile, and can talk to anyone about anything (and often, everything). She's a caring daughter, a loving sister, and a supportive friend," the fundraiser read.
"We just want her to know that we love her so much and we just really want to bring her home," Nicky added.
The family is financing the search efforts for Ng using their own funds.
