Family, police still have no answers on missing Des Plaines woman

The last three nights haven't brought much sleep for Dignesh Solanki, as he awaits word on his missing wife.

On Wednesday, the Des Plaines man gazed through bloodshot eyes at the scene inside his home, where friends and family have gathered to support him.

His wife, 24-year-old Anu Solanki, was last seen leaving her job at the Westin North Shore Hotel around 1:30 p.m. Monday. She was on her way to perform a religious errand -- to dispose of a broken statue of the Hindu god Ganesh in the Des Plaines River.

Her Honda Civic, its engine still running, was found abandoned around 4:30 p.m. Monday near the forest preserve at Milwaukee Avenue and Hintz Road. A purse and a laptop computer were missing from the car, police said, but a second purse that contained money was still inside.

More Coverage Audio Dignesh Solanki on his wife, Anu Stories Police searching Des Plaines River near Wheeling for missing woman [12/26/07]

Divers searchers on foot and a helicopter swarmed the area Wednesday looking for clues. Today at 10 a.m., family and friends will meet in the parking lot of the Westin Hotel to canvass the area with fliers that show Anu Solanki's photo.

"I just love her so much, I worry," Dignesh Solanki said.

The car is impounded at the Cook County Forest Preserve Police headquarters in Des Plaines, police spokesman Steve Mayberry said. Police so far have little evidence, he said, and are looking into all the possibilities, including that she might have been kidnapped or that she fell into the river.

"Obviously with not much to go on, police are checking out every possible lead," Mayberry said.

Family and friends discount the possibility that Anu Solanki would have staged her own disappearance and run away.

Dignesh and Anu Solanki were married May 6 in New Jersey. Dignesh and Anu's older brother, Dhiren Patel, both say the marriage is strong, and just last Saturday Anu asked her husband about starting a family.

Dignesh, 27, who works at a Chicago store, has lived in the area for more than four years. Anu moved here after the wedding. Both were born in the Indian state of Gujarat, near the Pakistan border.

The couple, who live alone in their Des Plaines home, often get together with friends to eat and watch movies, the husband said. Neither has family nearby -- most of Dignesh's family lives in India and Anu's family is in Virginia.

Dignesh Solanki remained hopeful his wife will be found. He last spoke with her Sunday night as they prepared for bed. Anu left for work early Monday while he slept, Dignesh said.

For him, there are two likely explanations for her disappearance.

"One is the river," he said, "and one we are thinking that she might have got kidnapped or something could be happening."

"We're not going to give up hope, that's for sure."

Anu Solanki was constantly in contact, telling friends and family where she was going, they said.

"Even if she went to the grocery store, I would know she would be there," her husband said.

Raising concern now is Anu Solanki's reported cell phone call to a friend around 2 p.m. Monday. She told her friend a group of men in a car were following her, and that they were the same men who watched her count money inside the Westin Hotel gift shop, where she works.

But Solanki called her friend back five minutes later and said the car was gone, her husband said.

Mayberry did not say how seriously police are investigating the possibility of foul play, or whether they are looking for the car Solanki said she saw on her way to dispose of the idol.

Hinduism filled a large role in the couple's lives, which is why Anu Solanki was taking such care to dispose of the Ganesh idol properly.

The idol of the elephant-headed god was broken. Relatives and a priest at the Hari Om temple in Medinah all advised the couple to dispose of it.

"They told me it was bad luck and couldn't keep it in the house," Dignesh said.

Some Hindus believe that once an idol is broken, it no longer contains holy energies. The proper disposal is in moving water, such as a lake or river.

This particular Ganesh statue was used in the couple's wedding, which is common in most Hindu ceremonies. Ganesh's inclusion is an appeal to the god to ensure marriage -- or any endeavor -- goes smoothly.

The statue broke when it was shipped to Des Plaines, Dignesh Solanki said, and Anu told her husband Sunday of her plans to dispose of it in the river.

"It was a small idol. It wasn't even big. It wasn't heavy," Patel said.

Dignesh Solanki said his mother introduced the couple and they starting writing while Anu Solanki was in India. After meeting in the U.S., they dated about two years before marrying.

Although they were introduced, their union is considered a love match in Indian culture, as opposed to an arranged marriage.

Patel, 27, drove up from Charlottesville, Va., where he and his sister attended high school and where most of his family lives. Anu also went to community college in Virginia and graduated with an associate's degree.

Solanki's brother last saw his sister two weeks ago when she visited Virginia to pick up a brother-in-law who had recently flown in from India.

"I've got to stay strong," Patel said.