Louisiana teacher disappears; authorities suspect foul play

(CNN) -- Investigators suspect foul play in the disappearance of a 51-year-old schoolteacher who was reported missing July 18 near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, authorities said Tuesday.
Sylviane Finck Lozada, a French and Spanish teacher at Brusly High School in Brusly, Louisiana, for the past 13 years, last spoke to her family in Belgium about July 5, said spokeswoman Casey Hicks of the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office. Lozada called her family on a daily basis, authorities said.
Investigators are trying to locate her husband, Oscar Lozada, Hicks said. He and the couple's daughter boarded a plane from Dallas to Venezuela on July 9, Hicks said. The daughter's age is 4 or 5, authorities said.
"We would obviously like to speak with him," Hicks said.
The father and daughter were scheduled to return to the United States on July 14 but didn't, authorities said.
The sheriff's department is working with the FBI because of its contacts in Venezuela, Hicks said.
"Detectives have communicated with Oscar Lozada at the beginning of the investigation into her disappearance, but over the past week, they have been unable to contact him," Hicks said.
No warrants have been issued in connection with the disappearance, Hicks said.
Authorities have examined the husband's credit card statements and found that he bought five-gallon buckets and several bags of concrete mix.
But, Hicks added: "The buckets and concrete mix are unaccounted for."
Detectives believe the missing woman may have occupied her husband's bright-yellow 2001 Nissan Xterra on July 5 or July 6, and investigators are seeking any eyewitnesses, authorities said. The car was found July 24 in Ascension Parish at the home of a family friend, authorities said.
Walter Lemoine, principal at Brusly High, said Sylviane Finck Lozada had been a West Baton Rouge Parish Teacher of the Year. She is also a National Board Certified Teacher and had earned a doctorate degree two years ago.
Lemoine called Sylviane Finck Lozada a "tough" teacher and said her disappearance is "a major impact" to the community.
On August 8, the 500-student school will hold "a celebration of hope" in the gymnasium for the missing teacher, and participants will also move outdoors to light vigil candles, Lemoine said.