Malen still missing after 182 days

Malen Zoe Ortiz disappeared on the December 2, 2013 and has not been seen or heard of since. “Before anything else I want to thank everyone for their support in this matter. Today, unfortunately, marks six months without Malen, half a year without my daughter. There are no words to describe the hell we are living in. Every day without Malen is an eternity for me.”

This was the short speech with which Natalia Rodriguez, mother of the disappeared girl Malen, greeted the approximately 200 people who had come out to the Pinada de Santa Ponca to show their support and sympathy for the local woman who has not seen her daughter since December 2.

Alejandro Ortiz, father of Malen, also attended the meeting with his son but did not speak with Natalia with whom he has a very bad relationship. Natalia commented that the day was about Malen and not her relationship with her ex. Alejandro holds a similar meeting at the beginning of each month.

The general sentiment expressed at the meeting was that waiting 24 hours before reacting is reacting too late. The police forces and emergency services need to change their protocols and society needs to pressure its governments to do so.  One child lost, gone forever is one child too many.

Teresa Palmer, Balearic Government delegate, made mention of Malen during the 170 anniversary meeting of the Guardia Civil. She commented that the Balearic Islands were a quiet community but that, occasionally, bad things happened and they had to rely on the security forces to help them out; she underscored the fact that they are all working hard to find the disappeared girl.