Body of Pinay bartender missing in Saipan found

GARAPAN, Saipan – The body of a missing Filipina bartender in the United States island of Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) was found in an abandoned mall Tuesday afternoon, two days after she was reported missing.   Emerita “Emie” Relata Romero, 37, was last seen alive at around 3:00 a.m. on Sunday near her house, some 15 minutes after leaving the bar where she worked as a bartender for the last three years.   Romero, from Plaridel, Bulacan, has two children in the Philippines.   The police learned Sunday afternoon that at 3:02 a.m. that day, a 911 call was made from her cellular phone.   The woman’s 911 call was cut off after she mentioned the name of a hotel which is near where her body was found two days later.   Friends, colleagues, authorities, the Philippine Consulate General and many community members expressed their condolences upon hearing the news that her body had been located.   Romero’s relatives, family, co-workers and other community members who volunteered to join the FBI and CNMI police in searching for her called off the search at around 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday when authorities found the body at the former La Fiesta Mall in the northern part of Saipan.   Saipan is the capital of the CNMI which has a population of only 54,000.  Most of the foreign workers in the CNMI are from the Philippines.   Oliver Guinto, Romero’s uncle, grimaced as he stood near the area where his niece’s body was found.   “Napakahirap, nakakalungkot.  Dumayo kami dito para maghanap-buhay, ganito pa ang nangyari,” Guinto, also of Plaridel, Bulacan, told GMA News Online.  Guinto works as a welder in Saipan.   Guinto said he thought about searching the abandoned mall on Monday in search of Romero, but the idea was lost to him when the volunteer group went past the mall.   “Kung natuloy kami sa paghahanap dito sa mall na ito, nakita na sana namin siya Lunes pa lang,” Guinto said.    At about the same time, Romero’s sister, brother, and other relatives were informed by other authorities about the incident.   Authorities are expected to hold a news conference Wednesday.  There’s no suspect yet in the case, which was earlier classified as kidnapping. - VVP, GMA News