Cops, cadaver dog search home of missing mom's husband

Police investigators search for clues at the home of a missing woman's ex-husband in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 13, 2006. Nina Reiser was last seen on Sept. 3 when she dropped off her children at the home of her ex-husband Hans Reiser. PAUL CHINN/The Chronicle **Nina Reiser, Hans Reiser less Police investigators search for clues at the home of a missing woman's ex-husband in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 13, 2006. Nina Reiser was last seen on Sept. 3 when she dropped off her children at ... more Photo: PAUL CHINN Photo: PAUL CHINN Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Cops, cadaver dog search home of missing mom's husband 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

2006-09-13 13:47:00 PDT OAKLAND -- Oakland police and a cadaver dog with the Alameda County sheriff's office today are searching the home of a software developer whose estranged wife hasn't been seen for 10 days, police said.

Law-enforcement officials received a warrant to search the home of Hans Reiser, 43, on the 6900 block of Exeter Drive in the city's Montclair District, police said. Reiser's wife, Nina "Nenasha" Reiser, 31, was last seen at about 2 p.m. Sept. 3 at his home, where she dropped off their 6-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter.

A police bulletin issued Monday said the woman is "at risk" and could be a victim of foul play. The children have been placed with Child Protective Services.

Hans Reiser has not been termed a suspect in her disappearance, and police have yet to speak to him, authorities said.

Hans Reiser wasn't at home today, but his mother, Beverly Palmer, was present during the search and was being cooperative, said Oakland police Lt. Kevin Wiley. "We have not spoken to him yet," Wiley said of Reiser.

A cadaver dog searched a crawl space underneath the home, located on a winding street off Shepherd Canyon Road in a steep wooded canyon.

Also on scene was an agent with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Reisers frequently traveled to Russia.

Meanwhile, concerned friends, neighbors and teachers from the Reiser children's former school, Grand Lake Montessori, have been posting flyers in the Lake Merritt area and other parts of the Montclair district.

On the day she disappeared, Nina Reiser was planning to go shopping at Berkeley Bowl before going to a friend's house, said Anthony Zografos, her boyfriend. She never showed up at the house.

Police said they found Reiser's tan 2001 Honda Odyssey at an unspecified location, but no trace of her. There were groceries inside the car, authorities said.

The couple married in 1999 and separated in 2004. Nina Reiser filed for divorce in 2004, citing irreconcilable differences, according to Alameda County Superior Court records. She was granted custody of the children.

The couple's divorce was never finalized.

She said he was out of the country on business for his firm, Namesys, for nine months out of each year, records said.

Nina Reiser accused her husband of subjecting their son, then 4, to violent video games and movies.

"This is an activity that Hans does almost obsessively to relax," Nina Reiser wrote in her divorce filing. "Hans believes a child should 'know the real world' and sees nothing wrong with this behavior. He doesn't seem to grasp that children are not little adults."

Hans Reiser, in turn, denied that movies were to blame and accused his wife of having an extramarital affair and of being mentally unstable and physically abusive to him, court records show.

Hans Reiser's court filings touched on Sir Francis Bacon, Aristotle, Ralph Waldo Emerson and the scientific method. He said his son played "more hours of educational games" than those depicting violence and told the court that he was being "scammed" by his wife. He wrote of Nina Reiser, "She is a product of a KGB-dominated society and is the child of someone who works for the KGB."

Nina Reiser was granted a temporary restraining order against her husband in December 2004. A year later, she agreed not to seek a permanent order.

But earlier this year, Hans Reiser allegedly failed to pay 50 percent medical expenses and child care expenses as ordered by Judge Ronni McLaren, records show. He pleaded not guilty Aug. 25 on a civil contempt charge and is scheduled for trial in October.

"I would like to think -- and I hope -- that he had nothing to do with this," Shelley Gordon, Nina's Reiser's divorce attorney, said today. "This has been a very acrimonious divorce, and I'm very fond of Nina and quite heartsick over her disappearance."

Nina Reiser, who is trained as an obstetrician/gynecologist in Russia, has lived in the Temescal district in recent years, Zografos said.

Authorities describe Reiser, whose nickname is Nenasha, as 5-foot-5 and 114 pounds, with brown eyes, black hair and a fair complexion.

Oakland police homicide investigators have not been called in to assist officers with the missing person's unit, authorities said. Police want to look into the possibility that she could have left the country, said Oakland police Capt. Jeff Loman.

"We don't have any evidence of foul play," Loman said Tuesday.

Police ask anyone with information about Reiser or who may have seen her van to call contact investigators at (510) 777-3333. Callers can also leave information on the Police Department's tip line at (510) 637-0298.