The search for Lian in Córdoba: what is known about the missing child, today Tuesday, February 25
Three-year-old Lian Flores has been intensively searched for since Saturday in the town of Ballesteros Sud , in Córdoba . Around 7 p.m. on Friday, and after tracking him near his home, the parents notified the local police that they had lost track of the minor . “There are more than 100 people working, with scouts searching, drones and dogs because we believe he is in the area ,” said the Minister of Security of that province , Juan Pablo Quinteros.
The boy has a dark complexion, short black hair and is approximately 90 centimeters tall. At the time of his disappearance he was wearing blue shorts, his torso was bare and he was barefoot, according to information provided by his family from that place near the city of Villa María.
In an interview with TN , Minister Quinteros said that after approaching the place he met with the parents of the child who said that on Saturday they had gone to bed to take a nap, in the middle of a sweltering day, in their home . They said that when they woke up they could not find the child, one of their six children . “He was not under the tractor where he usually plays, nor in the grassland,” they said. They searched for him until 7 p.m., when they notified the police.
Elías Flores, Lian's father, suggested on Monday that his three-year-old son could have been kidnapped for the purpose of possible revenge and/or settling of scores. The child is being intensively sought after being last seen on Saturday, February 22 at his home in Ballesteros Sud, province of Córdoba.
48 hours after the search operation began, the only item of evidence related to the child was the discovery of a pair of blue trousers similar to the ones he was wearing when he disappeared . Visual identification by the parents will be required to confirm whether it is the same item of clothing.
In the midst of this uncertain scenario, Elías spoke to Telenoche (ElDoceTv) and said in tears: “I am very worried, I think someone has it, it hurts me a lot. This has never happened to me before, I have lived there for four years, every day I do the same job, the same hours, this time I don't know what happened.”
“I ask that he appear please. I don’t know if it’s some kind of revenge or something, but my child should appear, because he is a calm child, the calmest in the family, intelligent, he talks, walks, plays,” he added. Like other neighbors , Elías also mentioned the presence of a suspicious van on the property where they live.
In this regard, he warned about the end of the interview: “Face to face, no one said anything to me, no one said 'I'm going to do this to you' or 'you have this', they didn't threaten me. I think there was a truck that had entered that place and I know my son well, he can't go more than 200 or 100 meters in that heat.”
The place where the search is focused is far from the urbanized area and to get there you have to travel several kilometers along a dirt road . There is a hamlet of about eight very precarious houses whose inhabitants work, for the most part, in the local brick cutters. The Cordoba official confirmed that after contacting the Ministry of Security in charge of Patricia Bullrich, the Sofia alert was activated.
The Bell Ville prosecutor Isabel María Reyna, among other authorities, is involved in the search. Quinteros said that the area where Lian is being tracked is “complex because, although it is flat, there is a brick quarry, so there are holes.” Ballesteros Sud is a town located in the Cordoba department of Unión. It is located 182 kilometers from the city of Córdoba and five kilometers from the city of Ballesteros.
During the search, a neighbor told LN+ : “He is a three-year-old boy, we don’t have much information from the neighbors.” Asked if she saw a truck on Saturday afternoon, she said: “Yes, we saw a white truck with tinted windows. Trucks come to buy bricks from the neighbor, that’s why we didn’t say anything, we didn’t suspect. It’s normal. That’s why it didn’t attract attention.”
In this regard, she indicated that the incident occurred between lunchtime and siesta time: “It was after lunch, I don’t know the time but we had already had lunch and were sitting in the shade. My husband and I went out and we found out when we came back at eight at night, my children told me. I didn’t believe her because a child can’t get lost. It’s not common, it’s never happened.” Asked about the dangers of the area, she said: “At the bottom there are wells but I don’t think they are dangerous. Only when they are full of water.”
During an interview with the same media outlet, the provincial attorney general , Juan Manuel Delgado, said: “There are seized vehicles, there are cell phones, at this moment we are taking statements from people in the prosecutor’s office, witnesses, we do not rule out any investigative hypothesis. We have added Dr. [Nicolás] Gambini to the prosecutor’s office as of today so that he can join Dr. Reyna in the investigation of the case.”
He also explained that the investigation was extended to other points, although he cannot provide much information because the case is confidential. “I would not like to reveal anything in advance because anything that one says could hinder the investigation. We are very cautious, very prudent, but we are hopeful that we will resolve the issue,” he added.
Finally, he confirmed that three vehicles and between ten and eleven cell phones were seized, which belong to the owners of the trucks and the boy's family. So far, there have been no arrests in the case.
Quinteros, for his part, assured that 194 people, seven drones, 10 dogs, and helicopters from the province are participating in the search. He also highlighted: “From the very first moment when the father called and alerted about Lian’s disappearance, we have worked together and under the directives of the Attorney General’s Office. What we are doing is complying with a directive from Reyna and now from Gambini as well. We are going to continue working on all possible lines of investigation and hypotheses.”
“At this moment, statements are being taken that will be very important for the course of the case,” he added. “Everything is being investigated, absolutely all possible hypotheses are being investigated,” Delgado said, adding that measures are being taken based on the testimonies that are being collected.
“The community is requested to communicate any relevant information to the Bell Ville Prosecutor's Office at the telephone numbers 03537 450010 or 03537 450013, to the 911 or 101 emergency number, or to any police or judicial headquarters.” , indicated the official statement released by local media.
On Sunday evening, Quinteros renewed his statements to the press and offered further details about the search operation. “We are continuing to try to find Lian. We are currently working with night drones, dogs and a helicopter. So far - at 10:30 p.m. - the result is negative .”
“The operations are taking place in a very rural area. It is a brickyard where a group of families of Bolivian origin live. The efforts to find the three-year-old boy will continue throughout the night and will extend into the morning. We are not going to stop. I am optimistic that we will find him,” he concluded.
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