Police investigate disappearance

It has been almost a month since thirty-seven year old Astrid Perrera-Cheng, co-owner of the local technology shop, U.S. COM, was last seen in Belize. She was supposed to board a July nineteenth flight to Miami on company business, but never showed up at the airport. When a fellow employee, twenty-two year old technician Luis Valdez, went missing on July twenty-fifth following a business trip to Honduras, it was assumed by most observers to be a case of two lovers running off–perhaps across the border–to start a new life together. This theory was bolstered by rumours of a large amount of missing money at U.S. COM. And that’s where matters stood…but interest in the case is being rekindled by family members of Astrid who have consistently maintained that the loving mother of a six year old would not think of leaving the child without at least some contact with the family. Police seem to be aware of an alternate theory in the case and this morning brought in Astrid’s former husband–and U.S. COM co-owner–Julio Cheng, for questioning. Cheng was released this afternoon and later spoke to News 5’s Jacqueline Woods at his place of business. He admitted to being questioned by the cops, saying that it was standard procedure in a case like this and they were only doing their job. He claims that he is not obsessed with his ex-wife and a divorce is a divorce. He believes that Astrid and Luis simply ran away… and as for the money, while Cheng claims she was in charge of the company’s finances, and there are some funds missing, he would not confirm the amount, nor make a direct accusation of theft.