Leta Lynn Cordes of Mission Viejo, Calif. Cordes, 49 1/11/08

[Heidi J.]

Police: No Sign of Missing California Woman Who Vanished in St. Maarten
Thursday, January 17, 2008


Leta Lynn Cordes of Mission Viejo, Calif. Cordes, 49.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Police have found no trace of an Orange County woman reported missing almost a week ago in the Dutch Caribbean territory of St. Maarten.

Officers say 49-year-old Leta Lynn Cordes of Mission Viejo was last seen walking into a casino alone Friday night. Her husband reported her missing the next day.

Police dogs were brought in to aid the search but failed to pick up a sign of the woman. Police say Cordes lived in St. Maarten, but friends and relatives told a California newspaper she had been traveling to the island the past 10 years.

A friend, Cary Honstein, says Cordes and her husband returned from dinner before she left to gamble at the casino.



Fox news (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,323685,00.html)

[Heidi J.]

She is gorgeous for her age. I would have guessed she was in her late 20's!

:rose: Praying Leta is found.

[Maelstrom5]

Hi Heidi,

I found this story on Traveltalkonline.com

As you may know, St. Maarten is the Dutch side of this island. The other side is French and is called St. Martin. The Dutch side is highly developed, the French side not nearly as much. It is a small island and you can drive the whole thing in less then half a day



Still no trace of
missing woman

DAWN BEACH--The search is still ongoing for US citizen Leta Lynn Cordes, who went missing on Friday, January 11, the police reported on Wednesday.

Cordes, who was vacationing here with her husband Frank, was last seen by him on Friday, January 11, around 11:00pm when she left their home on foot to go to the nearby Westin Casino. She has not returned home or contacted anyone since then.

A search to locate the 49-year-old woman started when her husband filed a report with the police on Saturday, January 12, that his wife was missing, but up to now has had no positive results.

Police spokesman Inspector Ricardo Henson said Wednesday that a search had been carried out by the police K-9 unit on Tuesday afternoon. He said the search would continue.

The Police Department is asking anyone who may have any information that could help locate Leta Cordes to call the station.

Leta Cordes is from Mission Viejo, California, and has been visiting the island for more than 20 years. Her husband is of German nationality. Together they own a house in Dawn Beach, which they built last year.

On Friday, after dinner in a Grand Case restaurant, Leta Cordes decided to go to Westin Casino, where she was a regular guest, said her best friend Cary Honstein during a telephone interview with The Daily Herald.

“We suspect that something bad happened to her. I have known her for 22 years. Leta is not the person to disappear for a few days and come back again,” Honstein said. “She may look like a fun and voluptuous person, but she’s not the type to be picked up by a guy and come back a few days later.”

Police reported Cordes as known to be a compulsive drinker and a heavy gambler. Honstein confirmed that Cordes had been drinking that night and that she was a regular guest at the casino, which is a short distance from her vacation home.

“She comes there quite often. That night, her husband Frank had given her US $100 to go to the casino. We told her not to go, but she was very persistent. She went there on foot. Frank went after her a little later to see if she was safe, but he did not find her on the road, so he expected her to be in the casino already.”

The casino closes at 4:00am, and when Leta Cordes had not come home by 7:00am her family suspected something was wrong.

“Of course we enquired whether somebody had seen her at the Westin, but up till now nobody has come forward to confirm that she was in the casino that night,” Honstein said.

Cordes’ son Rory Bryant (29) flew in from the US on Tuesday to assist in the search for his missing mother. The police have advised Frank Cordes not to speak to the media.

[dulcinea]

Was there a specific reason her friends told her not to go to the casino or a reason why her husband checked on her to see if she was okay?

[Heidi J.]

Hi Peter, Thank you for posting that. I hope she comes home soon.

[jtazzy]

Why didn't the husband or friends go with her to the casino? Just curious.

I know my husband wouldn't let me go off anywhere like that by myself :shrug:

[Maelstrom5]

Hi jtazzy,

My guess is beause everyone had been drinking. In this story it says she had a lot to drink that night.

"But she was "much too drunk," and he tried to persuade her to stay home,"

www.topix.com/wire/world/netherlands-antilles


By H.G. Reza, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
January 19, 2008
A Mission Viejo woman visiting the Caribbean island St. Martin vanished a week ago while on a nighttime walk to a casino, her husband said Friday.

Leta Lynn Cordes was last seen Jan. 11 shortly before 11 p.m. when she left their vacation home for the Westin St. Martin hotel to gamble, her husband, Frank Cordes, said.

"The Westin is about 10 minutes away walking time," Cordes said in a telephone interview from the island. "She had made that walk before."

According to Cordes, the couple had spent the evening drinking with friends and returned home by car. Leta Cordes, 49, stayed sleeping in the back seat while he went to bed, Cordes said.

About 10:45 p.m. his wife awakened him to ask for money for gambling and the car keys, Cordes said.

But she was "much too drunk," and he tried to persuade her to stay home, he said. Leta Cordes left the house on foot, heading for the casino. Cordes said she refused to let him drive her.

Leta Cordes' son, Rory Bryant, said she never went anywhere without telling her family where she was going. Bryant, of Lake Forest, has gone to St. Martin to assist in the search for his mother.

Judy Honstein said she and her daughter Cary have known Leta Cordes for 20 years and she "is not a person hiding out somewhere afraid to call."

Cary Honstein said she is "feeling more and more hopeless" as the search for her friend enters the second week. She spent the holidays with the Cordeses at the their island home, returning Jan. 4.

On Friday, the Honsteins met with an Orange County sheriff's investigator. Sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said investigators will turn over information they gather to St. Martin authorities, who are in charge of the search.

A St. Martin police spokesman said Friday that there was no indication that Leta Cordes had met with foul play.

Ricardo Henson said Frank Cordes reported his wife missing Jan. 12, and police and canine units have been searching for her all week.

An FBI spokeswoman in Los Angeles said the agency has offered to assist St. Martin in the investigation.

There was no word on whether the offer was accepted.

Cordes, 42, said he and his wife have been regular visitors to the island, part of the Netherlands Antilles, for several years.

He said investigators cautioned him not to reveal too much information about the case or his family.

Police released a picture of the missing woman, showing her with long blond hair. Cordes said the local media "has run with the photo and sensationalized the case."

Cary Honstein said she was not surprised that Leta Cordes ignored her husband's request to stay home after a night of drinking.

"If she makes up her mind to do something, she's going to do it," she said.

Honstein said the Cordeses have been together for more than 20 years and described them as happy together.

[Maelstrom5]

COX.net; Orange County

FBI Joins Hunt For OC Woman Missing In The Caribbean
01-20-2008 2:58 AM

(Mission Viejo, CA) -- The FBI has joined the hunt for a Mission Viejo woman who disappeared in the Caribbean. The "Orange County Register" reports 49-year-old Leta Lynn Cordes was last seen while vacationing on the island resort of St. Maarten with her husband. Last Friday, she told him she was going to a local casino and never returned. The FBI is now working with authorities there in an attempt to locate Cordes. A number of family members and friends went to the island to put her picture up and talk with locals.

orangecounty.cox.net/cci/newslocal/local?_mode=view&view=LocalNewsArticleView&articleId=3134729...

[Breazy]

Praying for Leta's safe return . . .

Seems really strange to me that her husband would leave her in the car sleeping. I wonder if he tried to wake her and couldn't get her up? It's also strange that after drinking and passing out in the car, she would awaken and want to go to the casino. I would just want to crawl into my bed. Another thing, why would authorities advise Frank to not talk to the media? Seems to me that the more he talked to media and got her name and face out there, the better. Probably has to do with image and public relations . . . they don't want to become another Aruba.

[Maelstrom5]

Breazy,

I think you are right about the fact St. Maarten does not want to turn into another Aruba.

As far as why Leta's husband did what he did, I think this had happened before. They have been together for 20 years and I think he had learned that it was better to just let her sleep.

When she woke up, she wanted to keep partying, but her husband was already in bed. He tried to talk her out of it but it seems she would not listen. A good friend of the two, Cary Honstein, has been quoted as saying that if Leta made up her mind to do something there was no way of talking her out of it.

To answer the question "Wonder why he did not take it to the next step and walk in the casino?" One news report has quoted Frank as saying that when he went looking for her he was in his PJ's.

It been over 10 years since I last was on St. Maarten. but if my memory serves me correct the road in that section of the island is not lit, is very narrow in places, and has a few sharp turns in it.

[txfemale45]

I will owe her husband a huge apology if I am wrong... but where was he all night... sorry can't spell and i can't see my dictonary...

[jtazzy]

If the road is not lit very well and her being as drunk as what her husband said, she could have stumbled and fell some where.

[Breazy]

Originally posted by Maelstrom5


[respectfully snipped]
As far as why Leta's husband did what he did, I think this had happened before. They have been together for 20 years and I think he had learned that it was better to just let her sleep.

When she woke up, she wanted to keep partying, but her husband was already in bed. He tried to talk her out of it but it seems she would not listen. [/*]


You're probably right about this happening before and just leaving her to sleep was best but I still find it strange that after waking, she would want to resume partying. I wonder what time they got to the house and he left her sleeping in the car? It was reported that she woke him about 10:45 p.m. wanting to go to the casino so I wonder if she had been sleeping just 15 - 30 minutes or several hours.

[Maelstrom5]

From the Orange County Register
Jan. 16 2008

"Cordes said his wife went missing late Friday night after the couple and his mother returned home from dinner. The three had been drinking and Leta Lynn Cordes decided to stay in the back seat of the car while he and his mother went inside the home, Frank Cordes said in a telephone interview from St. Maarten.

"We were all a little intoxicated," he said.

Leta came into the home an hour later. She made a short phone call, then asked Frank for money to go to the Westin Hotel where she wanted to gamble, he said."

The Westin Casino is a upscale resort. A number of people probably travel that side road to get to it. This is a party island, on a Friday night it is easy to believe a number of them would also be drunk.

I think there is a decent chance she was the victim of a hit and run, but they did not run, they took her body with them. It could be buried in the north(French) part of the island or like many believe happened to Natalee Holloway, it could have been taken out into the ocean and dumped.

[omsk99]

~snip

"Cordes said his wife went missing late Friday night after the couple and his mother returned home from dinner. The three had been drinking and Leta Lynn Cordes decided to stay in the back seat of the car while he and his mother went inside the home, Frank Cordes said in a telephone interview from St. Maarten.

"We were all a little intoxicated," he said.

Leta came into the home an hour later. She made a short phone call, then asked Frank for money to go to the Westin Hotel where she wanted to gamble, he said.

"She liked to gamble, which is nothing unusual," he said. "

More at the link

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22718836/

She made a phone call, I wonder if she was meeting with someone?..

ETA: Maelstrom, we must have posted the same article at the same time!

[Breazy]

OK, this article says she decided to stay in the car and came inside 1 hour later, made a short phone call and then asked for money to go to the casino. Nothing about being left in car asleep. Although still strange that she wanted to stay in the car, it's totally different. Wonder who she called? Someone she was maybe meeting up with? Article also stated that employees confirmed she DID make it into casino. I know casinos have the latest and greatest surveillance equipment . . . seems like they would have video of her while in casino and also when leaving which would show if she left with anyone. Even if she went to someone's room, it should have been captured on surveillance. What a strange case. If she indeed did leave casino, possibly something happened on her way back home.

[Maelstrom5]

Breazy, LOL,

I am not laughing at you, I am laughing at myself.

I looked up that article to give you a answer to your question about how long she was in the car, but even though I reviewed the story I missed the fact that it was reported that Leta had been seen at the casino.

The mind is a funny thing; I was not looking for that fact, and it was not reported elsewhere, so I missed it.

I guess that fact blows my hit and run theory out of the water. Leta made it to the casino safely.

I guess the phone-call could imply she is safe, just with someone other then her husband. But if that was the case why has she not contacted her son? Or friends?

[Breazy]

Maelstrom 5

I know what you mean about the mind . . . It can really spin when following several cases at once. Up until that article, I had never heard that she had actually made it to the casino. Actually, it seems like it had been reported there was no confirmation of her being at the casino. I guess that just jumped out at me. Don't understand why she wouldn't be on surveillance, especially at a casino. If she was there, they should be able to determine who she talked to, sat by, left with, etc. I just hope wherever she is, she's safe and no harm has befallen her.

[Heyes]

Originally posted by Maelstrom5
Breazy, LOL,

I am not laughing at you, I am laughing at myself.

I looked up that article to give you a answer to your question about how long she was in the car, but even though I reviewed the story I missed the fact that it was reported that Leta had been seen at the casino.

The mind is a funny thing; I was not looking for that fact, and it was not reported elsewhere, so I missed it.

I guess that fact blows my hit and run theory out of the water. Leta made it to the casino safely.

I guess the phone-call could imply she is safe, just with someone other then her husband. But if that was the case why has she not contacted her son? Or friends? [/*]

Hi Maelstrom5
Thanks for all your research. Now I am interested. I was checking the O.C.Register today and found an update. It seems there is nothing to indicate that Leta ever made it to the casino.

I sure hope they take the FBI's help. After the fiasco in aruba.......
Here's the latest..
http://www.ocregister.com/news/cordes-casino-police-1964173-leta-maarten

[omsk99]

Originally posted by Heyes


Hi Maelstrom5
Thanks for all your research. Now I am interested. I was checking the O.C.Register today and found an update. It seems there is nothing to indicate that Leta ever made it to the casino.

I sure hope they take the FBI's help. After the fiasco in aruba.......
Here's the latest..
http://www.ocregister.com/news/cordes-casino-police-1964173-leta-maarten [/*]

In this article they say they confirmed she did make it to the casino :shrug:

"In their investigation, authorities said they confirmed from hotel staff that Leta Lynn Cordes arrived at the casino that night, said Investigator Ricardo Henson of the St. Maarten police department."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22718836/

[omsk99]

Originally posted by Heyes


Hi Maelstrom5
Thanks for all your research. Now I am interested. I was checking the O.C.Register today and found an update. It seems there is nothing to indicate that Leta ever made it to the casino.

I sure hope they take the FBI's help. After the fiasco in aruba.......
Here's the latest..
http://www.ocregister.com/news/cordes-casino-police-1964173-leta-maarten [/*]

I see now, this article says that actually no one saw her at the casino. I wonder how they "confirmed" before :confused:

[Maelstrom5]

No Link Available

US $5,000 reward for Leta Cordes
by The Daily Herald

Posted: Jan 30, 2008 13:03 UTC


DAWN BEACH - Frank Cordes, husband of US citizen Leta Lynn Cordes who went missing on Saturday, January 12, has announced a US $5,000 reward for information on the whereabouts of his wife.

Cordes said media reports indicating he had left the island were untrue. He told The Daily Herald yesterday that he had plans to travel to California, USA, today, Wednesday, if there was a flight available. In California, he will be meeting with Leta’s family to discuss details of the case.

Cordes said that in California he would also be transferring a sum of money to an RBTT bank account that holds the reward money for any person who comes forward with information regarding Leta’s whereabouts.

Cordes stressed that his departure was in no way an attempt to flee from the ongoing investigation. He said the police authorities were fully aware of his trip and he would be returning to the island in about three to four weeks.

Leta Cordes has been missing now for two weeks and four days. She was vacationing here with her husband Frank, who last saw her on Friday, January 11, around 11:00pm when she left their home on foot to go to the casino at the nearby Westin St. Maarten Dawn Beach Resort & Spa.

[jfletchwv]

I've always heard casinos have cameras EVERYWHERE--don't know if it's the same there. If so, though, you would think that they'd be able to find her on the camera footage somewhere--anywhere. Maybe they're searching it now. It's probably not all that easy to retrieve.

[Maelstrom5]

Hi jfletchwv

Yes the casinos on St. Maarten/St. Martin have surveillance cameras just like the US.

There are conflicting statements if Leta made it to the Casino or not. One report says the police have verified she did arrive, but the Casino is quoted as saying she is not seen on their cameras and no staff reported seeing her that night.

If she did get there then it tends to support her husbands version of what happened on the 11th. If not, then we only have his testimony as to what happened and no independent statement to verify it.

[Maelstrom5]

From a blog called Sxmophile; a blog about St. Maarten/St. Martin.

Chief Prosecutor Taco Stein said that there is no other news concerning missing American Leta Lynn Cordes who vanished since January 11 2008. ...
sxmophile.blogspot.com/2008/02/false-alarm-in-leta-lynn-cordes-case.html


Thursday, February 7, 2008
False Alarm in Leta Lynn Cordes Case
Philipsburg: Several police vehicles were dispatched to Dawn Beach about 6:15pm yesterday evening after they received calls that suggested that a corpse was found in the area. On the scene the police was busy searching in the bushes next to several containers belonging to the Westin Resort. The officers searched but up to press time they did not find anything. Police Spokesman Johan Janchi Leonard said that the police received several calls about the discovery but they did not find anything. He said the police is not giving up on finding Cordes and they will continue to look for the missing woman.

Chief Prosecutor Taco Stein said that there is no other news concerning missing American Leta Lynn Cordes who vanished since January 11 2008. Stein said that the police still do not have any leads as to where the missing woman might be and most of all the case still remains that of a missing person. He said that the police are still busy looking for the woman and they are appealing to anyone who may know where she is to come forward with information.

In the meantime her husband maintains in an interview with SMN News yesterday that he has nothing to do with his wife’s disappearance, he said that his nights are sleepless and instead of finding his wife he has to fight off accusations which suggests that he has something to do with her disappearance.

Frank Cordes said that he hired the services of a lawyer to see if he could have gotten the surveillance tapes from Westin Resort and Casino because he is not content with the answers he was given thus far. However, Cordes said he does not feel that Westin management or the employees did anything bad to his wife but felt that someone could have attacked her when she probably went to the washrooms which he said is at the back of the building.

[ruby]

:rose:

[omsk99]

Such a sad and strange case

:rose:

[Breazy]

Praying for Leta's safe return. I don't really suspect the husband at this point but sounds suspicious that it will take 3 - 4 weeks in California to talk to Leta's family and transfer money. I believe I could have that done in just a few days.

[Heidi J.]

:rose:

[Maelstrom5]

US $25,000 reward for
info about Leta Cordes

~ Permission received to search on French side ~

PHILIPSBURG--The family and friends of missing American citizen Leta Cordes have raised and are now offering a US $25,000 reward for her safe return or for the conviction of anyone who might be responsible for her disappearance.

Cordes’ family and friends had earlier offered a $5,000 reward for information about her whereabouts.

Cordes, who was reported missing on Saturday, January 12, was a frequent visitor to the island and was vacationing here with her husband Frank when she disappeared.

The husband said he had last seen her on around 11:00pm Friday, January 11, when she left their home on foot to go to the casino at the nearby Westin St. Maarten Dawn Beach Resort & Spa.

She has not been seen or heard from since and extensive searches involving the police, members of the Voluntary Corps St. Maarten VKS and volunteers in several parts of the island have found no trace of her.

A source close to the Cordes family told The Daily Herald late Monday, that Dutch side officials had “finally got permission from the French side” to allow searches for Leta Cordes to take place there.

The report could not be confirmed with the police last night.

The source noted that such permission was only now being granted, one month after Leta Cordes had disappeared. The Cordes family, the source said, was concerned about the seeming lack of a sense of urgency in the matter.

http://www.thedailyherald.com/news/daily/k227/cordes227.html

I can't believe they are just now looking for her on the French side of the island!

If you have ever been to St. Maarten/St. Martin then you know the French side is far less developed then the Dutch side and the border between the two was a kilometer, maybe less, from were Leta was last seen.

[Maelstrom5]

Leta Lynn Cordes Video; http://www.spike.com/video/2942577

This Video gives a bit of new information about the case, it reports that Leta and her husband may have argued over a life insurance policy. It also gives you a good view of where Leta vanished.

[Maelstrom5]

Missing American's husband arrested in St. Maarten

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten — Police in St. Maarten have arrested the husband of a missing Southern California woman on suspicion of involvement in her disappearance.

Prosecutor Taco Stein says Frank Cordes was taken into custody in the Dutch territory on Tuesday and is considered a suspect. Cordes has not been charged with any crime.

Stein declined Wednesday to give more details. He did not say what prompted the arrest nearly 10 months after the disappearance of Leta Lynn Cordes, of Mission Viejo, California.

Frank Cordes has told police he last saw his 49-year-old wife when she went to a hotel to gamble after a night of drinking. The hotel says she never arrived.

Extensive searches have turned up no sign of the missing woman.

Source:
www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/AP/story/727782.html




One thing to remember is that St. Maarten is Dutch, the term "Arrested" means the same thing here as it did in the Natalee Holloway case in Aruba.

[omsk99]

Thank you for posting the updates, I have been checking in to see if there have been any developments. The husband's story didn't sound believable to me from the beginning, but I always try to give the benefit of a doubt.

[omsk99]

~snip

"Frank Cordes tried to evade police by conducting several types of searches including the use of conniver dogs. Sources close to the investigation said that police made a mistake by letting the man know when they were going to bring in these dogs, because he Cordes removed the body from where he had hidden it. The source said that the man whom they described a dubious had hidden the body in his neighbors yard and that when he learnt the dogs were going to be used he removed the body. Frank Cordes also created websites and did quite a lot for the media to take the focus off of him since he said he is not the suspect."

http://www.smn-news.com/st-maarten-st-martin-news/207-cordes-remains-in-custody-suspected-in-wife-disappearance.html

:eek:

[Maelstrom5]

Good find omsk99,

If you read between the lines this news story tells us a lot of interesting information.

It sound like the police believe Frank buried Leta’s body in a neighbors yard then when he found out they were bring in cadaver dogs he moved it. (Note; these homes are vacation homes and there is a good chance the house was not occupied)

My bet is he moved the body from the Dutch side of the island to the French side. It is only a short drive away from his house and there is no boarder crossing, the only thing you note is that the road signs go from Dutch to French. But because it is in fact a different country, different police agencies would be involved; and this case, at least at the outset, was Dutch not French

The fact that the police are interested in phone records indicates to me the possibility that they believe that Frank may have had an accomplice after the fact.

[Breazy]

That article sounds pretty damning for the husband . . . Buried her in neighbor's yard and then moved her. Wonder how they know that? Also wonder how much more they know. If husband is responsible, I pray he pays the price. Definitely sounds like Leta is no longer with us and my thoughts and prayers are with her family.

:rose:

[omsk99]

That article sounds pretty damning for the husband . . . Buried her in neighbor's yard and then moved her. Wonder how they know that? Also wonder how much more they know. If husband is responsible, I pray he pays the price. Definitely sounds like Leta is no longer with us and my thoughts and prayers are with her family.

:rose:

I share Maelstrom's opinion that the husband probably had an accomplice, who might have given LE that information. I do hope that's the case so they will have enough evidence to press charges against the husband even if the body is not found.