WASHINGTON – The mother of Bethany Anne Decker, the pregnant Ashburn, Va. woman last seen three years ago Wednesday, prays her daughter and grandchild are safe. But she wants her daughter’s boyfriend — the last person to see her — to take a lie detector test.
“We pray every day that Bethany is out there and safe and well, and her baby, and we are hoping that somebody will come forward and help us to find them,” Kimberly Nelson tells WTOP.
Decker was last seen Jan. 29, 2011 in the Ashburn, Va. apartment she shared with boyfriend Ronald Roldan, despite being married to Emile Decker, who was serving in Afghanistan.
When she disappeared, Decker was 21, the mother of a 1-year-old son and 5 months pregnant.
Nelson says she recently spoke with Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office investigators, who had no new developments to share.
“Unfortunately, I do not have any additional news regarding her case,” says Nelson.
Decker’s car was left behind at her apartment complex on Orchard Grass Terrace. Investigators say a records search shows Decker didn’t leave the country, and there has been no activity on her bank accounts, cell phones or email since her disappearance.
“Not hearing anything at all is a test of faith, because it could be good news, and it might not be good news,” says Nelson.
Asked what she thinks happened to her daughter, Nelson paused.
“It’s a very good question. I pray that she is somewhere and that she is safe. I really, honestly, in my heart, think if she could reach out to us, she would, and tell us she’s OK.”
‘Take the polygraph test’
Despite the passage of time, Loudoun County investigators continue to classify Decker’s disappearance as a missing person case.
Decker’s husband, Emile, has returned from Afghanistan and lives with the couple’s now 4-year-old son.
Nelson says she remains close with Emile Decker and her grandson.
Seeing her grandson without her daughter is bittersweet “because I see so much of Bethany in him.”
The sheriff’s department has said there is no indication of foul play.
At the time of her disappearance, Decker was living with Ronald Roldan, whom she had met at Carrabba’s Italian Grille in Centreville, Va., while she worked there.
According to investigators, it is unclear whose child Decker was carrying when she disappeared.
Bethany Decker had described Roldan’s demeanor to family and friends as “controlling and abusive,” according to investigators in 2011 court filings.
Investigators searched Roldan’s mother’s home, with a search warrant, soon after Decker’s disappearance.
Roldan initially met with investigators, but eventually stopped answering questions.
Breaking his silence in a 2012 interview with WTOP, Roldan’s attorney Andi Geloo said “my client remains hopeful and prays daily that Bethany will come home.”
In a 2012 TV program on the Investigation Discovery network, Kim Nelson said she was aware her daughter was dating Roldan, despite being married.
Today, Nelson says she’s never met or heard from Roldan, who investigators say saw Decker after she last saw her husband, who was returning to Afghanistan after military leave.
“I would like to hear what happened, I’d like him to join the polygraph list like the rest of us did. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about,” says Nelson.
Told of Nelson’s request that Roldan submit to a lie detector, Geloo tells WTOP her client answered all questions addressed to him in 2011.
“He placed his faith and confidence in the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and 3 years later, he continues to have that faith and continues to pray for Bethany. He is innocent,” Geloo says.
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