Spain registers some 8,000 cases of missing minors per year, many of which are resolved quickly
By Alfredo Bloy and Jennifer Leighfield
THE mother of missing Amy Fitzpatrick, the 15-year-old Irish girl who disappeared from Mijas-Costa on January 1, 2008, has joined forces with two other mothers from Gran Canaria, whose children, Yeremi Vargas and Sara Morales, are also missing.
Unfortunately, they’re not the only ones. Throughout Spain, police currently have 200 open files on children who have disappeared over the years. Spain registers some 8,000 cases of missing minors per year, but fortunately many are youngsters who, after an argument with their parents, run away from home for a few days and, when they return, their parents fail to withdraw the missing person’s report.
In many instances, it is a case of one of the parents having taken the child, as a result of a custody issue, and fleeing the country - a phenomenon which is rising due to the number of mixed marriages in Spain. In this week’s special report, the Euro Weekly News has included children, some of whom would now be adults, who have disappeared without a trace in cases where there was no custody battle.
Amy Fitzpatrick
Missing since:
January 1, 2008
From: Calypso Urbanization, Mijas Costa, Malaga
Age at time of disappearance: 15
Description: Was wearing brown tracksuit trousers,a dark top with a hood, and a t-shirt with the word ‘Diesel’ in different colours. False nails and belly button piercing. Thin, 1.65m tall, with straight, dark hair; big, blue eyes. Spoke to her friend at 10pm on January 1 and was last seen leaving the house where she had been babysitting to return to her home, 1.5km away.
Sara Morales
Missing since: July 30, 2006
From: Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Age at time of disappearance: 14
Description: Was wearing a denim skirt and yellow strappy t-shirt, silver shoes and glasses with metallic frames. Long dark hair, brown eyes, 1.55m tall. Disappeared when walking from her home to the nearby ‘La Ballena’ shopping centre.
Yeremi José Suárez
Missing since: March 10, 2007
From: Santa Lucia de Tirajana (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria).
Age at time of disappearance: 6
Description: 1.25m tall, light brown hair and eyes. Last seen at 1.30pm playing with his two cousins on some wasteland near his home.
Talhaqui Zacharias Nadif
Missing since: August 20, 2006
From: The Melilla to Malaga ferry (Ciudad de Valencia)
Age at time of disappearance: 16
Description: 1.80m tall, 74kg, light brown, curly hair, dimple in right cheek when smiles, large mole on right arm. Speaks French and English. Very shy. Wearing black Adidas trousers, black and white striped Adidas t-shirt, black trainers, silver bracelet, necklace and ring. He disappeared from the ferry he was travelling on with his parents.
Josué Monge García
Missing since: April 10, 2006
From: Dos Hermanas, Sevilla
Age at time of disappearance: 13
Description: 1.60m tall, thin, light brown hair, green eyes, has an earring with a feather in one ear and a zirconium stud in the other, wearing a grey tracksuit, blue sweatshirt and red shoes. He was carrying a backpack with clothes and had 30 euros. Very shy. Last seen with a silver coloured BH bike when he left his house to visit a friend at 4.30pm. His father disappeared two weeks later and is a suspect in the case.
Juan Pablo Martínez Gómez
Missing since: June 25, 1986
From: Madrid
Age at time of disappearance: 10
Description: Black hair and eyes. Was travelling in a lorry with his parents when it was involved in an accident in Somosierra; they died and the boy disappeared. Witnesses claim to have seen him near a van. The driver and two women who were with him are suspected to have taken him.
Gloria Martínez Ruiz
Missing since: October 30, 1992
From: Alfaz del Pi, Alicante
Age at time of disappearance: 17
Description: 1.74m tall, light brown hair and eyes. Disappeared from Torres de San Luis Clinic where she was receiving treatment for depression.
M. Teresa Fernández Martín
Missing since: August 18, 2000
From: Motril, Granada
Age at time of disappearance: 18
Description: 1.70m tall, thin, long, blonde hair. Was wearing dark red trousers and a dark blue strappy t-shirt. Last seen by her father when he left her at a bus stop in Avenida de Andalucia. She was planning to join her friends for the local fiestas. Several witnesses place Robert Graham, a friend of Tony King (accused of the murders of Rocio Wanninkhof and Sonia Carabantes) in Motril in 2003 one day after being released from prison.
 
Dolores & Isidro Orrit Pires
Missing since: September 5, 1988
From: Manresa, Barcelona
Age at time of disappearance: 17 and 5 respectively
Description: Both have light brown and eyes. Both disappeared from the San Juan de Dios Hospital.
Álvaro de Andrés Díez
Missing since: May 7, 1993
From: Algorta, Vizcaya
Age at time of disappearance: 18
Description: 1.81m tall, light brown hair and eyes, strong complexion.
David Guerrero Guevara
Missing since: April 6, 1987
From: Malaga
Age at time of disappearance: 14
Description: Light brown hair and green eyes. Left home to catch a bus to an art exhibition. Seemed nervous during the day of his disappearance. Many sightings have placed him in Portugal. He was known as “the painter boy”.
Cristina Bergua Vera
Missing since: March 10, 1997
From: Cornella de Llobregat, Barcelona
Age at time of disappearance: 17
Description: 1.60m tall, thin, light brown hair and eyes, has a beauty spot on the right side of her forehead. Wearing jeans and a black leather jacket. Last seen by her boyfriend, ten years older, when she went for a walk with some friends. He is a suspect.
Please report any information regarding Yeremi, Sara or Amy, no matter how insignificant you may think it is, by calling 617 561 319. If you believe to have any information on any of the other missing persons, contact the Guardia Civil on 062.
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