BOSTON (AP) — The husband of a missing Massachusetts woman was arrested Sunday for allegedly lying to investigators, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey’s office said.
Massachusetts State Police and local police took Brian Walsh, 46, of Cohasset, Massachusetts into custody after concluding they had “probable cause” to believe he misled investigators in the search for his 39-year-old wife, Ana Walsh. She has been missing since New Years.
The announcement of Brian Walshe’s arrest came after Massachusetts State Police and local police said in a joint statement that their ground search for Ana Walshe or evidence related to her disappearance ended Saturday.
A state police special unit trained in search and rescue operations, three K-9 teams and the state police air wing searched wooded areas near Walsh’s home Saturday. State police divers searched the small creek and pond but found nothing, the statement said. The Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council also assisted in the search.
Walshe, a mother of three young children, was last seen a week ago at her home in Cohasset, police said.
She was reported missing Wednesday by her husband in Cohasset and her employer in Washington, according to The Patriot Ledger. The couple owns a home in Washington, and Walsh commutes during the week to work at a real estate company, her friends said.
While police were searching for Walsh on Friday, a fire broke out at the Cohasset home she owned until last year. The house was sold in March. State police and local investigators determined the cause of the fire to be accidental. The current residents escaped safely.
The investigation into Walsh’s disappearance is ongoing. Authorities returned to her home Sunday, while Cohasset detectives and state police were also in Washington to investigate, according to The Boston Globe.
Brian Walshe is awaiting sentencing in a fraud case involving the sale of fake Andy Warhol paintings, according to court records. Cohasset police said Walsh’s disappearance and her husband’s case appear to be two very different things, The Boston Globe reported.
He is scheduled to be arraigned on the latest charges in Quincy District Court on Monday. It was unclear whether Brian Walshe has an attorney and a phone number for him could not be found.
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