Mamta Kafle Bhatt's Remains 'May Never Be Found', Police Chief Says: Report

MANASSAS PARK, VA — Nearly eight months after missing Manassas Park mother Mamta Kafle Bhatt was last seen leaving her job at UVA Health Prince William Medical Center, local authorities are saying her remains may never be found.

In an interview with FOX 5, Manassas Park Police Chief Mario Lugo said investigators have executed over 44 search warrants and conducted more than 50 physical searches across Northern Virginia to locate Kafle Bhatt.

Lupo told FOX 5 that authorities are now focused on a landfill site in Page County.

"That's where most of the trash, I believe, has gone, that we believe went there based on what we're being told," Lugo said, adding, "but they can't tell us where exactly these big dump trucks took the trash and dumped it when it was picked up."

Kafle Bhatt, 28, was last seen on July 27. Her husband, Naresh Bhatt, was arrested three weeks after his wife disappeared and charged with concealing a dead body.

According to police, authorities did a welfare check on Aug. 2, but Bhatt declined to report his wife as missing.

Bhatt reported her as a missing person on Aug. 5 and claimed to have last seen her on July 31.

Neither Kafle Bhatt's body nor her remains have been located, but she is presumed dead, according to authorities.

Earlier this month, a grand jury indicted Bhatt on a first-degree murder charge. He also faces a felony count of physically defiling a dead body.

He is set to stand trial on Sept. 8.

In December, prosecutors presented evidence to a grand jury as they sought the new charges against Bhatt. NBC Washington reported that Bhatt was caught on surveillance footage getting rid of trash bags at locations around the region. Other footage showed Bhatt purchasing items like knives and cleaning supplies. In addition, a bathmat containing blood turned up at a donation site.

According to a previous InsideNoVA report, prosecutors said blood was found in the couple's bedroom and it appeared that someone may have been dragged across the floor. Additionally, authorities found a packed suitcase in the home and Bhatt reportedly sold his Tesla and attempted to sell his house in recent weeks, InsideNoVA reported.

During a Dec. 2 press conference, Lugo said the department believes Kafle Bhatt was murdered. He added DNA samples suggest she was dismembered in her home, and the samples also played a key role in Bhatt's indictment on additional charges.