A fact that emerged in San Juan from the search for Loan Danilo Peña, the five-year-old boy who disappeared in the province of Corrientes, is that so far in 2024, the officers of the Police’s Search and Rescue Division intervened in the reports of missing persons of 582 people. From this data, it is clear that 210 were children. Unlike the case of the minor in the province of Litoral, the interventions concluded with positive results and without major problems.
The data was confirmed by HUARPE DIARYthe head of Search and Rescue of Persons, Sub-Commissioner Belén Flores. The search for people in San Juan has been operating through the provincial program “San Juan Te Busca” for four years. During that period of time, the police force, together with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, intervened in 3,762 cases. The protocol was activated more to search for minors (2,177) than for adults (1,585).
Not taking into account 2024, as the year is not over, 2023 was the period in which the most people were reported missing. There were 1,474 reports, 677 for the disappearance of children and adolescents and 797 for adults.
Regarding the disappearances of children, although there are multiple factors, the main reasons are usually due to differences with their parents or with the people in the places they are living or because they miss their real family. In this case, for example, many children who live in State homes usually run away two or three times a year.
One of the last searches that moved San Juan was that of the German Julia Horn on Cerro Tres Marías.
Other reasons include unacceptable sexual identity and poor academic performance. December and March, during exam time, are when this type of situation occurs most.
Within the “San Juan Te Busca” program, Search and Rescue of Persons is currently working together with the Fiscal Investigation Unit (UFI) for Generic Crimes. The authorities of these agencies act based on a complaint, either made through 911 or at a police station.
If the person being sought is missing in a rural area, the authorities call on various special groups of the San Juan Police: Geras Group, Canine Division, Mounted Division, Fire Department, and if necessary, the Armed and Security Forces, private and state organizations, using material and human resources in order to obtain a positive result.
Once the person has been found and no crime has been confirmed, the case is confined to the private and family sphere. If the case involves a minor, the case is brought to the attention of the prosecutor in charge, the advisory services for minors and incapacitated persons and the Department of Childhood, Adolescence and Family.
Deputy Commissioner Flores highlighted, before this medium, that once the child disappears, the family should not wait for time to pass and should file a report immediately. In this way, the “principle of speed” of the protocol can be complied with and the flayer for searching for people with important data and a photo can also be activated.
Loan Case
The five-year-old boy, Loan Danilo Peña, from Corrientes, disappeared 15 days ago after a family lunch. The case went from a simple loss to being investigated as human trafficking and currently has six people detained, among them, the former ship captain, the jachallero Carlos Pérez.
The case took on a national dimension, so much so that in San Juan there were between four or five complaints from people who alerted the police of having seen a child similar to Loan. Regarding this, Deputy Commissioner Flores confirmed to this medium that the division she directs collaborates with the Corrientes authorities and studied each of the reported cases. The police official highlighted that the events were reported in different areas of the center and two or three days after they occurred. Regarding the latter, she once again emphasized that when something like this becomes known, the report must be made quickly to achieve immediate results.
Fact
The Search and Rescue Division is located on Jorge Newbery and Gregorio Las Heras streets, in Rivadavia. The telephone number to communicate is 434-5557.
