Where is Carla? Carla Valpeoz, 35, legally blind author and social activist from Detroit, went missing in Peru on or around December 12
A legally blind author and social activist from Detroit has not been seen or heard from for a week after vanishing on a solo trip to Peru.
Carla Valpeoz, 35, has been missing since December 12 and was not on her flight home on Saturday.
Valpeoz, a Michigan museum worker and seasoned traveler, disappeared while staying at the Pariwana Hostel in Cusco.
Her family says Valpeoz’s phone has been off for days and there has been no activity on her credit cards.
Peruvian police have launched an investigation into the American tourist’s disappearance and the US State Department has confirmed that officials are aware of the situation, but would not comment further citing privacy concerns.
Valpeoz’s brother, Carlos, told the Detroit Free Press his sister, who has very poor vision stemming from a brain surgery and uses a cane while traveling, had jetted off to Peru to attend a friend’s wedding and had planned to stay in the South American country for two weeks exploring Machu Picchu, Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Rainbow Mountain.
Valpeoz (right) is pictured on December 11 exploring Machu Picchu with a group of tourist she had befriended
Valpeoz has very poor vision stemming from a brain surgery and uses a walking cane when she travels
Valpeoz was joined by a friend from Detroit, Alicia Steele, for the first leg of the journey, but then went off on her own.
Steele said the plan had been for the two of them to reunite in Lima on December 13 and return home together on the 15th.
Just before midnight on December 11, Steele said she got a text from Valpeoz raving about her excursion to Machu Picchu.
Valpeoz spent the night before her disappearance at Pariwana Hostel in Cusco (pictured)
The 35-year-old Detroit woman is pictured sitting down to lunch with her new friends on December 11
‘I can’t wait to tell you all about it. It was absolutely worth 100%,’ the woman wrote. ‘I’m coming in on Thursday afternoon so I will send you the details through email once I check in. It would be a wonderful welcoming to have all of you come pick me up.’
Valpeoz never made it back to Lima on the appointed day, but Steele was not alarmed because her friend was an experienced traveler.
She thought that Valpeoz must have lost her phone, so she decided to just meet her at the airport two days later.
When Valpeoz missed their flight home, Steele filed a missing persons report and went out looking for her friend.
Despite her disability, Valpeoz has been a globe-trotter, traveling as far as Egypt and Papua New Guinea
Valpeoz’s brother, who lives in Brooklyn, said that during her trip to Machu Picchu, his sister encountered some problems touring the ancient Incan village because of her disability, so a group of tourists made up of three Spaniards and a man from Argentina invited her to join them.
After exploring the popular UNESCO World Heritage Site, Valpeoz and her new acquaintances visited some hot springs and had lunch together.
That night, Valpeoz went dancing with the other travelers at a club in Cusco.
‘She seemed happy and in good spirits. They had a few drinks and danced all night,’ Carlos Valpeoz said.
Valpeoz made it back to the Pariwana Hostel at 4am and went to bed. The following morning, just after 10am, she sent a text message to one of her new companions, saying that she was going on a trip ‘to check out some places,’ but was planning to return by 1pm.
Valpeoz works as a tour guide at the Arab American Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, and has been advocating for the blind
‘I’ll message you to see where you are and maybe we can meet up and see some museums. I hope you got some rest,’ the text read.
The woman’s brother says he has no reason to suspect that his sister’s travel companions know anything about her disappearance because they have been helping with the search and appear concerned for her.
Police in Peru have obtained surveillance video showing Valpeoz getting into a cab and heading in the direction of a bus depot.
According to the brother, the State Department has tracked his sister to a town north of Cusco, which is situated on the route to Machu Picchu.
Valpeoz works as a tour guide at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, and has been advocating for the blind.
Despite her disability, Valpeoz has been a globe-trotter, traveling as far as Egypt and Papua New Guinea. In January of this year, she published a book titled ‘Visonless Adventures.’
Carla Valpeoz is described as 5-foot-1 with brown hair and brown eyes. She travels with a walking cane and was last seen with a green backpack.