Husband of missing Cohasset mother Ana Walshe arrested for misleading investigation
COHASSET – The husband of missing Cohasset mother Ana Walshe has been arrested for misleading the investigation. The Norfolk District Attorney's Office announced 46-year-old Brian Walshe's arrest on Sunday evening.
Brian Walshe is expected to be arraigned in Quincy District Court on Monday.
Ana Walshe has now been missing for one week.
WBZ-TV has obtained and verified a voicemail from Brian Walshe to a friend of Ana's in Washington D.C., where Ana works. The friend said the voicemail was left Wednesday, the same day Ana was reported missing to the police.
"Good afternoon, this is Brian Walshe. I hope all is going well. I was just reaching out to basically everybody I could. Ana hasn't been in touch for a few days," Brian said in the voicemail. "If you know anyone that may have had contact with her, you know I am trying to call everyone. I am sorry to bother you. I am sure everything is fine."
In 2018, the US District Court charged Brian Walshe with fraud for selling two fake Andy Warhol paintings. He pleaded guilty to several charges in 2021 and had been on home confinement pending his sentencing.
"This is absolutely heartbreaking," said Peter Kirby. He is a friend of the Walshe family and saw Brian as recently as Thursday.
Kirby said Ana and Brian hoped 2023 would be "their year."
Now Kirby is contending with the developments in the case while supporting his close friend.
"Our dear friend Brian is in this awful situation where he is terrified and heartbroken and stuck in an endless loop of unknown while the internet decides he's the bad guy," said Kirby.
The ground search for missing Cohasset mother Ana Walshe was suspended after two days, but the investigation into her disappearance continued on Sunday as police returned to her home off Route 3A.
According to I-Team sources, police were executing a search warrant at the home. The couple's children are in state custody, sources added.
Investigators could be seen removing boxes of evidence from the inside the house and others had shovels in hand.
The Norfolk District Attorney's office will now be the lead organization in the search.
At a Friday news conference, Police Chief William Quigley said there's been "no electronic footprint" of Walshe at all since January 1.
That was the day when a relative saw Walshe leave her home around 4 a.m. to take a ride share to Logan Airport in Boston for a flight to Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. Her husband was sleeping when she left, the chief said, adding Walshe was presumably called to a work emergency in D.C.
Police said they have not been able to confirm Walshe ever got into a ride share and added that she did not board a plane. Walshe was reported missing on Wednesday.
Detectives returned from D.C. on Sunday after they were there searching for possible evidence.
Quigley previously said Walshe's cell phone has been off since January 1 and there's been no activity on her credit or debit cards since then as well.
Walshe is described as 5'2″, weighing 115 pounds. She has brown hair, brown eyes and speaks with an Eastern European accent.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police detective Harrison Schmidt at 781-383-1055 x-6108 or email hschmidt@cohassetpolice.com.
Brian Walshe Criminal Complaint 2018 by WBZ Webstaff on Scribd
