O.C. woman is missing from Caribbean island

A Mission Viejo woman visiting the Caribbean island St. Martin vanished a week ago while on a nighttime walk to a casino, her husband said Friday.

Leta Lynn Cordes was last seen Jan. 11 shortly before 11 p.m. when she left their vacation home for the Westin St. Martin hotel to gamble, her husband, Frank Cordes, said.

“The Westin is about 10 minutes away walking time,” Cordes said in a telephone interview from the island. “She had made that walk before.”

According to Cordes, the couple had spent the evening drinking with friends and returned home by car. Leta Cordes, 49, stayed sleeping in the back seat while he went to bed, Cordes said.

About 10:45 p.m. his wife awakened him to ask for money for gambling and the car keys, Cordes said.

But she was “much too drunk,” and he tried to persuade her to stay home, he said. Leta Cordes left the house on foot, heading for the casino. Cordes said she refused to let him drive her.

Leta Cordes’ son, Rory Bryant, said she never went anywhere without telling her family where she was going. Bryant, of Lake Forest, has gone to St. Martin to assist in the search for his mother.

Judy Honstein said she and her daughter Cary have known Leta Cordes for 20 years and she “is not a person hiding out somewhere afraid to call.”

Cary Honstein said she is “feeling more and more hopeless” as the search for her friend enters the second week. She spent the holidays with the Cordeses at the their island home, returning Jan. 4.

On Friday, the Honsteins met with an Orange County sheriff’s investigator. Sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino said investigators will turn over information they gather to St. Martin authorities, who are in charge of the search.

A St. Martin police spokesman said Friday that there was no indication that Leta Cordes had met with foul play.

Ricardo Henson said Frank Cordes reported his wife missing Jan. 12, and police and canine units have been searching for her all week.

An FBI spokeswoman in Los Angeles said the agency has offered to assist St. Martin in the investigation. There was no word on whether the offer was accepted.

Cordes, 42, said he and his wife have been regular visitors to the island, part of the Netherlands Antilles, for several years.

He said investigators cautioned him not to reveal too much information about the case or his family.

Police released a picture of the missing woman, showing her with long blond hair. Cordes said the local media “has run with the photo and sensationalized the case.”

Cary Honstein said she was not surprised that Leta Cordes ignored her husband’s request to stay home after a night of drinking.

“If she makes up her mind to do something, she’s going to do it,” she said.

Honstein said the Cordeses have been together for more than 20 years and described them as happy together.

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hgreza@latimes.com