Missing woman’s husband arrested in the Caribbean

The husband of a Mission Viejo woman missing since January on the Caribbean island St. Maarten has been arrested by local authorities as a suspect in her disappearance, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.

Frank Cordes was arrested Tuesday at his island home by detectives, said St. Maarten police spokesman Ricardo Henson.

Cordes’ wife, Leta Lynn, 49, left the couple’s vacation home Jan. 11, reportedly telling her husband she was walking to a nearby casino. She has not been seen since.

“Right now, he is being held in connection with his wife’s disappearance,” Henson said. He said prosecutors announced that they had uncovered new evidence, but declined to elaborate.

The Daily Herald, an island newspaper, reported Wednesday that prosecutors alerted local media two weeks ago that there was new evidence in the case but offered no further details.

The paper said detectives removed bags of clothing and other personal items from Cordes’ home when he was arrested.

The arrest was confirmed by Orange County Sheriff’s Department homicide Det. Brian Sutton.

He said the department assisted St. Maarten police by interviewing associates, friends and relatives of the couple in Southern California.

“My understanding of their legal system is that they can keep Cordes for 48 hours and then show a judge that they have good reason to hold him longer,” Sutton said.

In an interview about a week after his wife’s disappearance, Cordes said they had spent the night drinking with friends and returned home by car. Cordes said he went inside the house and fell asleep but his wife remained in the vehicle, asleep in the back seat.

According to Cordes, his wife awakened him shortly before 11 p.m. and asked for money for gambling and the car keys. He said he tried to persuade her to stay home, but that she left on foot for the Westin St. Maarten Hotel, about a 10-minute walk.

A hotel spokeswoman said surveillance tapes from that evening show that she never entered the hotel or casino.

An Orange County sheriff’s spokesman said deputies responded to a domestic violence call at the Cordes’ Mission Viejo home in January 2007, but no arrests were made.

Cordes said he called authorities when his wife became violent after arguing over life insurance. He said she chased him into his home office with a hammer.

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hgreza@latimes.com