Fiancé tagged as person of interest in missing bride-to-be case

The Quezon City Police District’s Special Investigation Team (QCPD-SIT) said Wednesday that the fiancé of a missing bride-to-be is being treated as a person of interest in the ongoing investigation.

QCPD Public Information Office chief P/ Maj. Jennifer Gannaban said Mark Arjay Reyes, the fiancé of Sherra De Juan, is considered a person of interest but not a suspect.

"POI (person of interest) po sya (Mark Arjay Reyes) pero not necessarily na suspect na. Si Mark kasi ang last na kasama, at finacee kaya naituring na POI," Gannaban told the Daily Tribune.

Authorities said De Juan has been missing for a week after she disappeared on December 10, just four days before her scheduled wedding. Her whereabouts remain unknown.

Initial investigation showed that De Juan last communicated with Reyes on December 10, telling him she was heading to a mall to buy wedding shoes. She never returned home.

Police said De Juan left her mobile phone at their residence while it was charging. The device is now in police custody and is undergoing forensic examination as part of efforts to reconstruct her last known activities and contacts.

Investigators are also reviewing closed-circuit television footage from possible routes and locations, analyzing available cellphone data, and validating witness statements to establish a clearer timeline of events.

On Tuesday, QCPD-SIT operatives questioned Reyes and De Juan’s brother for more than seven hours as part of the investigation.

Reyes, a 31-year-old IT engineer, said he could not understand why his fiancée suddenly disappeared after informing him that she was going to buy shoes at a nearby mall.

“Desidido po siya. 2023 pa po kami na-engage kaya noong pinagpaplanuhan namin wala naman ako nakitang alinlangan,” Reyes told probers.

“Ako po personally as her boyfriend po, hindi nya po kayang gawin yun. Wala po siyang nakakausap na ibang lalaki. Actually hindi siya nage-entertain ng mga ganyan,“ he added.

Police said De Juan and Reyes have been in a relationship for nearly a decade.