The report of a blind U.S. tourist who has gone missing after a recent trip to Cusco has caused international concern. Now, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is joining in on the search for 35-year-old Michigan native Carla López Valpeoz after she has been missing for two weeks.
Valpeoz’s family has already been in Peru looking for details that may lead to her discovery, while local authorities and the U.S. Embassy in Peru are also believed to be aiding in search efforts. There are already 50 police officers from around Peru who are looking through the Pisaq district and Pisaq Archaeological Park in the search for Valpeoz.
The latest news from the search efforts shows that she turned in an entrance ticket to get into Pisaq park but never turned in an exit ticket, meaning she may still be in the park grounds.
“Our hypothesis is that she is still up there,” said Peru National Police chief Manuel Mar. “The park guard punched the admission ticket, not the exit one. She might have taken a different route, an unusual path, on the way down.”
Valpeoz was last seen leaving a hostel in Cusco where she boarded a taxi that her family said is thought to have been taking her to a bus station. She had previously met a group of tourists who offered to help her hike up Macchu Picchu.
A missing person’s poster online shows that Valpeoz was traveling with a green L.L. Bean backpack. She has brown eyes, brown hair, and travels with a cane, the poster adds.
Different social media sites and a GoFundMe page have been set up to help find Valpeoz. Some $17,000 has already been raised to assist the family in its search.
Valepoz was last heard from on Dec. 12 via a WhatsApp message and was supposed to fly back to the U.S. on Dec. 14.
