The search for Lian in Córdoba: what is known about the missing child, today Thursday, February 27
Three-year-old Lian Flores has been intensively sought since Saturday, February 22 in the town of Ballesteros Sud , in Córdoba . Around 7 p.m. on Friday, and after tracking him near their home, the parents notified the local police that they had lost track of the minor . So far, the Córdoba Justice has not reported any concrete progress in the investigation, five days after the disappearance of the child: more than 300 agents are still looking for the boy in the countryside, there is not a single arrest nor a relevant hypothesis that has transcended at an official level.
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 barefoot and he was found naked, according to information provided by his family from that place near the city of Villa María.
Days after the minor's disappearance, searches for his whereabouts continue, but there are already versions that point to his family, which led to the resignation of the sponsoring lawyer . According to local media Cadena 3 , the lawyer Romina Romano reported that she left her defense this Tuesday. "When the father left to testify, he told me that they had asked him not to make any more statements about the incident," said the lawyer and indicated that "the prosecution has not yet conveyed any hypothesis."
Although no line of investigation has been ruled out for now, judicial authorities question - according to reports - certain "inconsistencies" in the television statements made by the father, Elías Flores, who suggested that Lian could have been kidnapped as a possible revenge or settling of scores.
As time went by without any significant news regarding the case, the deputy prosecutor of Córdoba, Bettina Croppi , gave a press conference in the so-called “ ground zero ”, where she provided some details of the operations that were carried out, although she insisted on the idea that the authorities have been repeating since Sunday: “ All hypotheses are possible ”. Croppi explained that so far “six vehicles have been seized and are being inspected, as well as 30 cell phones and 15 raids have been carried out, some of them in other provinces.”
Roberto Schreiner , spokesman for the Ministry of Security of Córdoba, emphasized, however, that they are dedicated to the search for the child and stressed that the case is confidential . “We have to be very cautious,” he said, in dialogue with LN+ . “Between two and three times, since Saturday night, we have searched the area. Until yesterday, we had traveled about 1,700 meters from point 0, which is the house of the child’s family,” added the provincial official about the search protocol.
The International Criminal Police Organization ( Interpol ) joined the investigation. The entity published the search details for Lian on its website as a yellow alert.
On Tuesday, the rescue dogs lost track of the boy near the house. That is, the investigators note that the dogs did not find any incentive to continue towards a soybean and corn field , which is in the back. The behavior of the dogs suggests, for now, that the boy did not walk towards the fields, which, given the boy's short stature, less than 90 centimeters, could be in that area.
Quinteros said in a television interview that, alerted by the case, he went to the town and interviewed the boy's parents, who said that on Saturday they had gone to bed to take a nap, in the middle of a stiflingly hot day, in their home . They told him that when they woke up they could not find the boy, one of their six children . "He was not under the tractor where he usually plays, nor in the grass," they said. They searched for him until 7 p.m., when they notified the police.
Elias Flores , Lian's father, suggested this Monday that his three-year-old son He may have been kidnapped for possible revenge and/or settling of scores.
In the midst of this uncertain scenario, Elías spoke to Telenoche (El DoceTv) 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: “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 such heat.”
Since the search operation began, the only element related to the boy was - according to sources of the investigation - the discovery of blue pants similar to the ones he was wearing at the time of his disappearance . It has not yet been confirmed or denied whether it is the same garment.
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 , is involved in the search, among other authorities. Minister Quinteros said that the area where Lian is being searched 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’re dangerous. Only when they’re 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 research hypothesis . We have added [Nicolás] Gambini to the prosecution as of today so that he can join 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 can 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 relatives of the child. So far, there have been no arrests in this 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.
“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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