Search intensifies for missing American woman in Madrid: ‘We must always be looking'

Missing person's alerts and notices for Ana Maria Knezevic Henao, a South Florida woman who traveled to Spain and vanished, blanket the streets and ATM machines of the European nation and have been shared online and on TV repeatedly since the Colombian American woman was last seen on Feb. 2, according to NBC News.

The alerts have been seen over 15 million times over the past week, according to Joaquin Amills Bonet, president of a Spanish missing persons volunteer organization helping in the search of the 40-year-old woman.

Amills Bonet told NBC News that his organization is in constant communication with relatives and friends of Knezevic Henao and that he is serving as the family's spokesperson.

"Logically, fear is present," Bonet said in Spanish. "We always say that hope is the last thing to lose, therefore, we must always be looking for Ana María in good condition, alive."

Knezevic Henao, who was born in Colombia and became a U.S. citizen, was last seen at an apartment she had been renting in Madrid since December.

According to her family and friends, Knezevic Henao relocated to Madrid amid a difficult separation from her husband, a Serbian man named David Knezevic.

"Ana Maria wanted a divorce and to settle in Spain," Amills Bonet said, adding that the woman began "divorce proceedings" in January, including contacting attorneys in Florida.

NBC News did not find any official divorce filings in Florida for the couple.

Knezevic Henao’s family and friends have said they believe the couple's joint financial interests may have something to do with their contentious separation.

NBC News found three corporations registered under the couple's names in Florida — EOX Technology Solutions Inc., Registered Corporate Agents LLC and EOX Capital LLC — all of which provide technology and other types of support for South Florida businesses.

“The marriage had significant financial assets,” Amills Bonet said.

Juan Henao, Knezevic Henao's brother, told Fort Lauderdale Police on Feb. 7 that there was "a substantial amount of money on the line to be split up between the two” as the couple endured a "nasty" separation. He added that his sister's husband "was not happy about it," police records obtained by NBC News show.

Ken Padowitz, an attorney representing David Knezevic, told NBC News his client has not been named a suspect or person of interest in the case and has been cooperating with authorities in Spain investigating Knezevic Henao’s disappearance.

David has nothing to do with this," Padowitz said, adding he was in Serbia, not Spain, at the time of her disappearance. "We obviously hope, like everyone else, that she’s found and she’s OK."

A State Department spokesperson told NBC News in a statement that they "work closely with local authorities" in any case involving a missing U.S. citizen abroad, but did not provide any details specific to Knezevic Henao’s disappearance.

Sanna Rameau, Knezevic Henao’s friend, previously said that she sent her a text message on the day she vanished but didn’t hear back.

Based on information obtained by Amills Bonet's organization, Knezevic Henao was in her Madrid home on the night of Feb. 2. She had an hourlong phone conversation with a friend at 8:30 p.m., sharing she did not plan on going out that night. At an unknown time on Feb. 2, a neighbor noticed that security camera lenses in Knezevic Henao's building had been covered with black spray-paint. The lights in Knezevic Henao’s apartment were still on by 1 a.m. the next day, according to a neighbor.

It's unclear whether there's any connection between the vandalized surveillance cameras and Knezevic Henao’s disappearance, Amills Bonet added.

On Feb. 3, Rameau received a message from Knezevic Henao's number saying she had met someone and was going to his home located two hours away from Madrid and that her phone service would be spotty.

Rameau found the message “strange” and contacted police in Madrid.

Investigations are underway by police in Madrid and Fort Lauderdale, but authorities have not revealed much details.

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

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