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The Israeli consulate in Los Angeles is trying to find a couple believed to be Mormons and living in Utah to learn what they remember of a 24-year-old Israeli woman who disappeared from Playa del Carmen, Mexico, two years ago.
The couple and their four children, the youngest with Down syndrome, had stopped in the Cancun area while on a cruise and rented a car to tour Tulum, according to what the consulate has learned. Witnesses say the family found the bikini-clad woman unconscious near a road and took her to a beach-side restaurant to try to revive her.
The police were called and the family returned to the cruise ship. But witnesses in Mexico said the police eventually released the woman to a man who showed up and claimed to be her boyfriend.
The woman's description fits that of Dana Rishby, who was in the Playa del Carmen area at the time and disappeared. She may have been drugged, according to witness accounts given to a private investigator hired by Dana's parents, Dror and Dania Rishpy of Haifa, Israel.
Witnesses told the investigator the couple who found the woman indicated they were from the Houston area and they are believed to have been on a Carnival cruise ship docked in the port of Calica on April 5, 2007.
The Rishpys and their investigator believe the family that found and helped their daughter were Mormons. The Rishpys traveled to Houston in April and, with help from the Israeli consulate, filed information with the Harris County Sheriff's Office there. The Houston Chronicle ran a story April 9 about their ordeal and their quest to find the family.
They still have not learned the names of the family that helped their daughter, but say they have been led to believe the mother and father are now in Utah on a Mormon mission.
The consulate hopes if the story is publicized in Utah, the couple who helped the woman believed to be Dana two years ago will see it and realize they are the people the Rishpys are trying to find.
The Rishpys say they just want to personally thank the couple for helping their daughter. The consulate hopes they might remember something that will help the investigation.
Anyone familiar with this story can contact me at The Tribune and I will get you in contact with the Israeli consulate.
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