Anna Walshe Cohasset, Massachusetts: Missing woman’s husband arrested for misleading police investigation, authorities say

COHASSET, Massachusetts — The husband of a Massachusetts woman who has not been seen since New Year’s Day has been arrested for misleading a police investigation, authorities announced.

Anna Walshe, 39, was last seen early Sunday morning at her home in Cohasset.

Her cellphone and credit and debit cards have been inactive since that day, police said.

NOTE: The video above is taken from a previous report on Ana Walsh’s disappearance.

Her husband, Brian Walsh, 46, was taken into custody Sunday and charged with misleading a police investigation, according to Cohasset and Massachusetts State Police.

Walsh was reported missing Wednesday by her husband, who lives in Cohasset, and her employer, who is in Washington, D.C. WCVB reports.

The husband is expected to be arraigned Monday, authorities said.

Cohasset Police Chief William Quigley said the family owns a townhouse in the nation’s capital, but noted that the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department searched the home and found no sign of Walsh.

“She does work in D.C. and it’s not normal for her to work long hours and not contact home,” Quigley said.

Friends said Walsh was traveling to Washington for a week to work for real estate firm Tishman Speyer, a job she started last year. She is active on social media, but friends say those accounts went silent on Sunday, when she was due to catch a flight.

“She is a loving and faithful wife and mother of three beautiful boys,” said a friend of Alice Kirby. “She loves her family, and I know deep down that she would not go a day without talking to her husband and children if she chose to.”

On Friday, the Massachusetts State Police Special Emergency Response Team and a regional police team spent most of the day searching the area near Walsh’s home along Chief Justice Cushing Highway (Route 3A). The search was called off for the night at approximately 6:30 p.m. after officers covered an area of ​​approximately one square mile.

The search for Walsh resumed in the area between 9:30 a.m. and 10 p.m. Saturday. Cohasset police said searches were underway in two other sectors Saturday with the help of K-9 officers.

At approximately 1:45 p.m., Saturday, a group was seen draining and cleaning the pool at the Cohasset Walsh home. At least one policeman was digging up old leaves lying on the bottom of the pool.

While law enforcement was searching for Walshe on Friday, a fire broke out at her former home in the 700 block of Jerusalem Road in Cohasset. Officials said the home’s current occupants called 911 when the fire started. The source said the address is the home where Walshe lived until recently. Zillow shows that the property last sold on March 17, 2022.

Fire officials said they worked for about an hour to put out the fire. Most of the work had to be done outside for safety reasons, including a partial roof collapse.

Three adults and a child got out of the house safely, officials said.

Quigley acknowledged the connection and said any possible link between Walsh’s disappearance and the fire would be investigated.

On Saturday, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services — also known as the Office of the State Fire Marshal — said Cohasset and state investigators determined the fire at Walsh’s former home was not suspicious.

The representative of the SFS reported that the fire started in the area of ​​the damaged pipeline, which is connected to a natural gas fireplace.

A family member told police that Walsh was scheduled to take a ride to Logan International Airport in Boston on Sunday; however, officials confirmed to the airlines that Walshe did not board the plane this week.

“It was reported that she was called to DC to deal with an emergency at one of the facilities she manages. That’s why she was trying to go to D.C. (for New Year’s),” Quigley said. “She did have a flight booked for January 3, but she never got on that flight.”

State police are canvassing the area off Route 3A in connection with the case. Quigley said Walshe’s husband, friends, family and employer were cooperating with the investigation.

“Life is sometimes difficult. She has young children – oldest 6 and youngest 2 – vacations, work out of state – sometimes life gets chaotic and this may be a case of her needing a break and when it’s In that case we need a call from her or someone anyone who talked to her,” Quigley said.

Police said Walsh is 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 115 pounds. She has brown hair, brown eyes and an olive complexion.

Walsh speaks with an Eastern European accent, police also said.

Anyone with information on Walsh’s whereabouts is asked to contact the department. Garrison Schmidt at 781-383-1055 extension 6108 or by email at hschmidt@cohassetpolice.com.