Shocking development in mystery of missing Florida wife who vanished in Madrid during bitter divorce the day her estranged husband was caught on film buying duct tape

Police are searching for the body of a missing Florida wife who vanished in Madrid during a bitter divorce the day her estranged husband was filmed buying duct tape.

Ana Maria Henao, who is originally from Colombia, was declared missing in February of this year after she failed to meet a friend to travel from Madrid to Barcelona for a conference.

The 40-year-old was last seen walking into her apartment where her husband of 13 years, David Knezevic, then showed up and left with a suitcase later that night. She has not been seen since.

The cities of Vicenza, Madrid and Miami are today being scoured by police with sniffer dogs and the FBI in a desperate bid to find the missing woman's body. 

Under an order from the local mayor, a dirt road surrounded by thick woods was closed along the old Costo road that connects the plain to the Asiago plateau in Vicenza yesterday.

Along with a bulldozer, investigators are searching the area which is thick with vegetation inch by inch, reportedly to try and find her burial site, La Stampa reports.

Ana reportedly moved to Madrid at the end of 2023 partly to get away from her husband, and her family said the couple were going through a difficult separation.

Footage showed Serbian-American IT specialist Knezevic, 35, at a hardware store buying duct tape and spray paint the day she went missing. 

Hours later, he was caught spray-painting the surveillance camera at his estranged wife's building. 

He was taken into custody as he returned from his home country of Serbia, where he had been for months and was charged with kidnapping.

He was arrested by the FBI and officials from the Spanish National Police in May.

People magazine reported that the couple were going through a 'nasty divorce' and there is a substantial amount of money on the line'.

Local media suggested that the division of assets is the likely motive behind Ana's disappearance. Ana and her husband had yet to formally file for divorce at the time of her disappearance.

The family became concerned about Ana after they started receiving text messages in Spanish from her phone that did not sound like they were written by the Colombia native.

'That message in Spanish, it is like it's translated from Google . It's not her. She doesn't say those things. Like nobody in Spanish will say it like that,' her brother said.

Ana's friend, Sanna Rameau, told DailyMail.com she last exchanged messages with her on February 2.

The last message from Ana's WhatsApp account, sent the following day, said she had 'met someone wonderful.'

'He has a summer house about 2h from Madrid. We are going there now and I will spend a few days there. Signal is Spotty. I'll call you when I get back,' it read.

Another message detailed the circumstances of their first encounter, claiming they met on the street. 'Amazing connection. Like I never had before,' it read.

Ana's friend said she wanted to start a non-profit 'helping women that have been abused or been in a bad situation'.

She told People: 'She wanted the divorce to go through, and she said that's what she wanted to do after splitting up everything.'

Investigators earlier recovered surveillance footage of a man in a motorcycle helmet hanging around Ana's Madrid apartment on February 2, the day before friends lost contact with her.

He was spotted waiting for people to exit the building before slipping inside at around 9:30pm.

The same man is believed to have spray-painted the lens of two security cameras of the apartment building in Madrid's upscale Salamanca neighbourhood.

A March 12 report from Spanish publication El Cierre Digital cited 'sources close to the case' who claimed the Scientific Police found biological remains in the missing woman's living accommodations.

But her brother, Felipe Henao, recently appeared on NewsNation's 'Cuomo' with a desperate plea to the public and denied the report about the remains, saying the family is still desperate for answers.

'We want to know the truth. We want to know where my sister is,' Henao said. 'If anybody has any information, any tips please reach out to the FBI or the Spanish authorities.'

When asked about the supposed discovery of biological remains in her apartment, Henao said he asked the FBI if the report was true and 'they told me it isn't.'

There was no further details on the specifics of the remains found.

Investigators 'don't want to share any information, because it could jeopardize the case. I understand. Justice moves slow,' Henao added.

He said her case was being treated as matter of domestic violence as it moved through the court system, and a case of forced disappearance rather than voluntary.

The couple ran a successful computer support and repair business from their home in Fort Lauderdale. Ana and Sanna had travelled extensively on holidays together and were in daily communication as Ana hunted for a new apartment in the Spanish capital.

Speaking to DailyMail.com previously, Henao said his mother was 'devastated' over her daughter's disappearance.

'I wish I had something new, I wish Ana was back already,' Hernao said. 'I just hope someone with information comes forward to tell us what they know.'