(UPDATES) THE missing beauty pageant contestant Geneva Lopez and her Israeli boyfriend Yitzhak Cohen were found dead in Tarlac after they were reported missing two weeks ago, Pampanga Gov. Dennis Pineda confirmed on Saturday.
“I am saddened to report that we found the bodies of our very own Geneva Lopez and her fiancé, Yitzhak Cohen, at Sta. Lucia, Capas, Tarlac, after they went missing for two weeks,” Pineda wrote in Filipino on his Facebook page on Saturday.
The governor confirmed the news from local police based on the clothes and items of the two victims.
Photos from Pineda’s post also showed a grassy quarry where the bodies were discovered.
“Let us pray for their souls. My condolences to their families. I will continue to assist in seeking justice for Geneva and Yitzhak,” Pineda wrote.
Lopez, a Mutya ng Pilipinas Pampanga 2024 contestant, and Cohen were last seen on June 21 in Capas.
The Times Israel reported that the Israeli Embassy was assisting in the transfer of Cohen’s body to Israel.
It also reported that “a burned-out SUV believed to belong to Cohen and Lopez was found during the searches, which began after Lopez raised the alarm on the missing pair.”
Inside the vehicle, police discovered “partially burned documents belonging to Lopez,” according to the same report. Cohen was believed to have been the last person to drive the vehicle.
Citing reports, The Times Israel said that Lopez had told her family that they were going to Capas to meet with a man with whom they had a real estate deal in 2021.
Cohen’s brother Yaniv was quoted as saying on the Ynet news site that Yitzhak had loaned that man money when his mother was sick but that the debt had not been repaid.
He said that instead, the man arranged the meeting with Yitzhak, telling him that he would give him land in exchange for the debt.
In June, the Mutya ng Pilipinas Organization said it was in “close coordination” with its Pampanga franchisee and was “genuinely concerned” about Lopez going missing.
As of press time, the pageant organization is yet to release a statement regarding Lopez’s passing.
The coronation night of the Mutya ng Pilipinas Pampanga 2024 pageant, where Lopez was supposed to participate, took place at The Lakeshore Tent in Mexico, Pampanga, last night.
Another beauty queen, Catherine Camilon of Tuy, Batangas, a contestant from last year’s Miss Grand Philippines 2023, has yet to be found after she went missing in Lemery, Batangas, on Oct. 12, 2023.
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