Police sought in disappearance of young man missing for over a month in Chaco
Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
- The mother of 21-year-old Axel Alejandro González, missing for over a month in Chaco, Argentina, suspects police involvement in his disappearance.
- Axel was last seen on May 16 after being intercepted by a police patrol, with a friend reporting he fled into a wooded area to escape officers.
- The family's legal representative has requested the indictment of three officers who were on duty the night Axel disappeared, while the mother expresses frustration over the slow pace of the investigation.
Axel Alejandro González, 21, has been missing for over a month, and his mother, María Inés Gómez, is convinced that police officers are responsible for his disappearance. The last known contact with Axel was on the evening of May 16, when he left his home in Puerto Tirol, Chaco, to meet his girlfriend.
I am sure that the police are behind my son's disappearance.
According to witness testimonies, Axel was intercepted by a police patrol car. His friend, Ariel Lázaro, reported seeing Axel run into a wooded area to escape the officers from the Fontana police station. Axel's girlfriend, Ludmila Villordo, also stated that Axel sent her an audio message indicating he was being harassed by police who accused him of stealing a motorcycle.
María Gómez reported her son missing on May 17, but the police initially refused to file a report, claiming it was outside their jurisdiction. She eventually filed the report at a different station, expressing immediate distrust of the Fontana police. The family's legal representative, Ricardo Osuna, has formally requested that three officers on duty the night Axel disappeared be investigated as suspects.
I don't know why they aren't arrested, if they were the ones who chased him that night; they were the ones who made my son disappear.
"I don't know why they aren't arrested," María insisted, "if they were the ones who chased him that night; they were the ones who made my son disappear." The Procurator General's Office of Chaco has since formed a special team of prosecutors to oversee the investigation, but the family remains frustrated by the lack of progress and what they perceive as a lack of value placed on their son's life.
The life of our children has no value.
Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.