Missing mother Ana Walshe reportedly left a note to her conman husband on a bottle of champagne wishing him “love, compassion and joy” in 2023.
The message was written in bright red letters on a Lanson Noble Cuvee champagne box that appears to have been left unopened after a New Year’s Eve party at the family’s home in Cohasset, Massachusetts, the New York Post reported.
“Wow! 2022 … What a year! And yet, we are still here and together! Let’s make 2023 the best one yet! We are the authors of our lives … courage, love, perseverance, compassion, and joy. Love, Ana,” the note reads, according to the Post.
A note on another side of the box reads: “Gem Ana Brian 2023!”
Gem Mutlu, a family friend, previously told CBS Boston he attended a party at the Walshe’s home. Mr Mutlu said Mr Walshe had cooked an elaborate meal for guests and described the mood as “festive”.
“There was a lot of looking forward to the new year,” he told CBS Boston. “There was no indication of anything other than celebrating the new year, problems on hold.”
He said they hugged goodbye and he left at around 1.30am.
Mr Walshe appears to have left a separate handwritten note at the home responding to his wife’s disappearance, according to DailyMail.com.
Images published by the Mail showed a note titled “response to friends” was left on a countertop at the $1m property.
“I appreciate your concern. Right now my focus is finding Ana and spending time with…” the partially visible note reads.
Ms Walshe, 39, hasn’t been seen since the early hours of New Year’s Day. Mr Walshe told police she woke him at 6am and said she had get to Washington DC for a “work emergency”.
According to the Post, both of the couple’s passports were visible on a countertop in the couple’s home.
Police said they were told that Ms Walshe took a ride share to Boston Logan International Airport, but have found no record that she was picked up by a vehicle or flew out that morning.
Records obtained by police reportedly show that her phone continued to ping from cell towers near the family home.
Mr Walshe reported his wife missing on 4 January, and was arrested days later for allegedly misleading investigators about his whereabouts in the two days after she disappeared. He is being held on $500,000 bond.
A criminal complaint states that police found a knife and blood in the basement of the family’s home. A hatchet and bloodied clothes were later found at a trash site nearby.
Friends have said that Ms Walshe sold assets including a rental home and a car in the days before she went missing, promising a “big surprise” in the new year.
