SI woman is reported missing in Turkey - Boston News, Weather, Sports | FOX 25 | MyFoxBoston

Turkish police have released security camera footage of a Staten Island woman who has gone missing while vacationing alone in Istanbul.

Sarai Sierra, 33, has been missing since Jan. 21, when she was supposed to return to New York but was not on her flight back home. She arrived in Istanbul on Jan 7.

CCTV camera footage released Tuesday shows her eating alone at a shopping mall cafeteria near her hostel and walking around the mall. It was not immediately clear when the images were recorded.

The husband and brother of Sierra, a mother of two, were speaking Tuesday with Istanbul police who specialize in missing persons.

Before she went missing, Sierra told relatives she planned to take photographs at a tourist destination.

Sierra's family say the last time they spoke with her came through an instant message conversation with her sister on Monday morning. 

Hearts are breaking inside an apartment in the Silver Lake section of Staten Island but there is also hope that the missing mother of two small boys will come home, now family members are flying to Turkey to try to find her. 

Steven Sierra is worried sick about his wife of 14 years. The mother of their two boys was on a three-week trip to Istanbul. She's an amateur photographer who posted many of her pictures on Instagram. She was due back to their Staten Island home Tuesday, but wasn't on her scheduled flight and she hasn't been heard from for almost a week. 

Mrs. Sierra is a petite 5'2" and decided to travel overseas alone after a friend canceled at the last minute. Her brother says the sudden end to all communication is just not like her. 

Steven Sierra says Turkish police found her passport, medical card chargers and clothes in the apartment where she was staying, but her phone and IPad were gone. 

Congressman Michael Grimm and the State Department say they're working with Turkish authorities to locate her.

 Rep. Michael G. Grimm (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) issued the following statement: 

"We are troubled by the facts surrounding Ms. Sierra's disappearance and my office has been working around the clock to locate her and return her home safely to her family. We remain in constant contact with officials in the US and Istanbul, and will continue to urge them to use all available resources to find Ms. Sierra. I am committed to standing with her family every step of the way until she is back safe in Staten Island."  

Sierra can't even begin to think of his life without her. 

Sierra says he told their sons that their mother missed her flight and that he was going to go and bring her home. He says he and his brother-in-law will stay in Turkey until they find answers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.