Suvechha Sarkar
In February 2024, 40-year-old Ana Maria Henao Knezevich/Ana Maria Knezevich Henao had settled into her apartment in Madrid, Spain, for only a few weeks. However, concerns arose when she suddenly went missing, and her friends were unable to contact her. It marked the beginning of a search for her and an investigation that uncovered a massive betrayal. NBC’s ‘Dateline: Missing Ana’ delves deeper into the troubling circumstances surrounding the case and the detailed evidence that helped officials to identify a suspect. The episode also features interviews with Ana’s loved ones and the officials who put in immense effort to solve the crime.
Ana Knezevich Suddenly Disappeared From Her Apartment in Spain
Ana Maria Henao arrived as a blessing in her parents’ lives sometime around 1984 in Colombia. Her parents always showered her with love and support, and she maintained close bonds with her beloved brothers, Felipe and Juan Henao. According to her loved ones, she always had a smile on her face and lit up any room she walked into. Eventually, Ana moved to Florida to pursue her dreams, where she crossed paths with Siberian-born David Knezevich. Soon, their conversations paved the way for a blossoming relationship. Sometime in 2011, Ana and David tied the knot, surrounded by their family and friends. Following that, they settled at their residence in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Ana and David possessed a significant interest in entrepreneurship.
Consequently, Ana and David’s entrepreneurial spirit helped them establish their business, EOX Technology Solutions Inc., a computer support company that provides services to South Florida ventures. Besides co-owning the company, they operated other businesses and notably amassed a massive fortune from their real estate and computer firm investments. Unfortunately, cracks began to appear in Ana and David’s marriage. It led the 40-year-old to move to a Salamanca quarter apartment in Madrid, Spain, by late 2023. According to her friend, Ana planned to settle there and aspired to start a non-profit organization to help women who had experienced abuse. On February 3, 2024, one of Ana’s Spanish friends and another friend, Sanna Rameau, received a text from Ana in Spanish and English, respectively.
The text reportedly said that Ana was going to a place with a poor signal for a few days with a man she had recently met. Her friends quickly grew concerned because the text didn’t seem to be from her. Hence, they contacted the authorities to report her missing on February 4. Officials reportedly began the investigation on February 5, after Ana failed to show up for a planned trip with her friend. They reportedly discovered CCTV footage showing the 40-year-old last captured on February 2. When they searched her apartment, they found nothing amiss but noticed a pile of mail. According to reports, investigators presumed her dead but were unable to recover her remains despite an extensive search. In April 2026, the FBI announced a reward of $25,000 in exchange for information that would lead to the discovery of Ana’s remains.
Travel Details and Multiple CCTV Footage Led Officials to Focus on the Suspect
After authorities learned of Ana’s friends’ suspicions, they first checked the CCTV footage from outside her apartment. According to reports, it captured a man wearing a motorcycle helmet on the night of February 2, 2024. The footage reportedly showed the man spray-painting the CCTV camera and placing duct tape on the entrance lock. Court records state that the video partially captured the man leaving after about an hour, carrying an item that appeared to be a suitcase. After speaking with Ana’s family, detectives learned about the strained relationship between her and David and the fact that they were undergoing a contentious divorce regarding financial issues. Official records indicate that they found CCTV footage from a local store that captured David buying the same brand of spray paint and a similar brand of duct tape.
According to court records, investigators believed the man captured on CCTV outside Ana’s apartment had physical characteristics consistent with David. Further investigation revealed that he had traveled from Florida to Turkey shortly before Ana disappeared. From there, he went to Siberia, before the cellphone data placed him in Madrid around the time she disappeared, as per reports. Investigative records indicate that officials found a car rented in Siberia, which was later tinted. It reportedly left the country shortly before February 2. Reports state that detectives alleged that David was the driver. Officials discovered that when the vehicle was returned after Ana went missing, it had reportedly been driven for 4,800 miles, its identifying stickers had been removed, and there were signs that the license plates had been altered.
Court records specify that license plate readers captured a vehicle resembling the rental car in Spain. According to police records, investigators found that some license plates had been stolen from near Ana’s apartment. Upon checking the toll booth and traffic camera footage, a similar rental vehicle was captured using the stolen plates, as per reports. However, authorities were unable to identify the driver due to the tinted windows. Reports state that when they checked David’s phone records, they discovered that he had allegedly contacted a Colombian woman online and asked her to translate a message into Spanish. The court records suggest that the translated message resembled the text sent from Ana’s phone. Ultimately, David was arrested at the Miami International Airport in May 2024 and charged with foreign murder of a US citizen, kidnapping resulting in death, and foreign domestic violence resulting in death.
David Knezevich Died While Awaiting Trial at a Federal Detention Center
Following his arrest, David pleaded not guilty to all his charges. Additionally, his defense attorneys continued to maintain his innocence. In February 2025, Ana’s family reportedly filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit against the defendant. Reports state that David was held without bond at the Federal Detention Center (FDC) in Miami, Florida, awaiting trial. However, things took an unexpected turn on April 28, 2025, when the authorities found the 37-year-old unresponsive in his cell around 8:15 am. According to them, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) workers provided David with life-saving measures, but he was later pronounced dead. As per official records, he had likely died by suicide. Even today, Ana’s remains are undiscovered, leaving her loved ones still searching for answers.
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