TARLAC City — The investigation into the disappearance of couple, Mutya pageant bet, Geneva Lopez and her boyfriend, Yitshak Cohen, who went missing on 21 June, has taken a significant turn with the emergence of a middleman who assisted the couple during their visit to a property in Barangay Armenia, Tarlac City.

At the same time, the combined reward for information leading to the couple’s whereabouts now stands at P500,000. This comes after the Cohen family added an additional P250,000 to the initial reward offered by the Lopez family.

Capas Police chief Lieutenant Colonel Librado Manarang said Tuesday that the police have obtained testimony from the middleman, who is a former police officer assigned to Angeles City.

Citing the middleman’s testimony through his lawyer, Manarang said, he met the couple on 21 June between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. in Barangay Armenia in this city where the couple intended to purchase the property. The middleman was the only person they met at the site.

The middleman’s identity has not been released, but Manarang confirmed he is no longer in active police service.  It was not confirmed if he has been dismissed or resigned from service.  

 “Nakumpirma natin na dati syang police ng Angeles City na naging businessman at real estate agent mula nung mawala sa serbisyo. Sa ngayon, inaalam pa natin kung ano ang dahilan kung bakit hindi na sya active sa serbisyo or kung sya ba ay na dismiss o nag retire (We have confirmed that he is a former Angeles City policeman turned real estate businessman. We are still investigating the reason why he has quit the service or was retired or dismissed),” he said in an interview.

The Tarlac Police Provincial Office has formed a special committee dedicated to investigating the missing persons case. 

Manarang assured that the committee is working to expedite the investigation and determine the couple’s location.