{{A New York City woman who went missing while vacationing alone in Istanbul was found dead on Saturday, and police were questioning 11 people in connection with the case, Turkey’s state-run news agency said.}}<\/p>\n
Sarai Sierra, a 33-year-old mother of two, was last heard from on Jan. 21, the day she was to fly home.<\/p>\n
Her disappearance attracted a lot of interest in Turkey, where the disappearance of tourists is rare, and Istanbul police had set up a special unit to find her.<\/p>\n
The state-run Anadolu Agency said the body of a woman was discovered Saturday evening near the remnants of ancient city walls and that police later identified it as Sierra’s.<\/p>\n
The agency said she was found with a head wound and a blanket near her body. She was wearing jeans, a jumper and a jacket, and still had her earrings and a bracelet.<\/p>\n
Sierra, whose children are 9 and 11, had left for Istanbul on Jan. 7 to explore her photography hobby and made a side trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Munich, Germany. <\/p>\n
She had originally planned to travel with a friend, but ended up traveling alone when her friend canceled.<\/p>\n
She was in regular contact with friends and relatives, and was last in touch with her family on Jan. 21, the day she was due back in New York. <\/p>\n
She told them she would visit Galata Bridge, which spans Istanbul’s Golden Horn waterway, to take photos.<\/p>\n
The body was found not far from the bridge and near a major road that runs alongside the sea of Marmara. Here tourists often photograph dozens of tankers waiting to access the Bosporus strait.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, police stopped traffic there as forensic police inspected the area.<\/p>\n
Anadolu suggested Sierra may have been killed at another location and that her body may have been brought to the site to be hidden there.<\/p>\n
At least 11 people were being questioned in Istanbul, Anadolu said, and a police official at the site told journalists that two of them were women. <\/p>\n
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters about the case. Earlier, Anadolu had said nine people were detained.<\/p>\n
It was not clear if a Turkish man Sierra had exchanged emails with during her stay in Istanbul was among those being questioned. He was detained for questioning Friday, then released. <\/p>\n
Turkish news reports said Sierra had arranged to meet the man on Galata Bridge, but he reportedly told police the meeting never took place.<\/p>\n
AP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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