Partner of flight attendant missing in Colombia: "I want to believe that he's alive"

3 hours ago 9

A hunt is underway for an American Airlines formation attendant whose disappearance portion connected a layover successful Medellín, Colombia, has near his loved ones hopeless for answers.

Eric Fernado Gutierrez Molina, 32, a U.S. national and North Texas resident, went missing Saturday evening after a nighttime retired with a chap formation attendant, according to Ernesto Carranza, Gutierrez Molina's longtime partner, and Sharom Gil, his champion friend.

The 2 formation attendants visited a barroom successful Medellin's El Poblado vicinity fashionable with planetary tourists, according to household and friends, arsenic good arsenic Colombian officials.

Carranza told CBS News helium has been "shattered" by Gutierrez Molina's disappearance.

"I privation to judge that he's alive, and I privation to proceed believing that he's alive, but passim each time you aftermath up not knowing anything, and it makes the days spell by longer and slower," Carranza said.

"I'm missing a portion of maine ... He's the astir joyful idiosyncratic to ever to beryllium around," Gil said. "We're truthful mislaid close now."

Carranza and Gil told CBS News they past communicated with Gutierrez Molina connected Saturday night, erstwhile helium told them helium was going retired with coworkers.

"I spoke with him Saturday evening, helium was conscionable telling maine helium had a layover successful Colombia and helium was going to spell retired with his friends," Gil said.

Gutierrez Molina was acceptable to enactment connected a instrumentality formation from Medellín to Miami connected Sunday, and Carranza said helium became alarmed Sunday greeting erstwhile helium was incapable to scope him. He past discovered that Gutierrez Molina's telephone appeared to beryllium pinging to 2 locations successful Medellín that were not adjacent his hotel.

"Both locations were obscurity adjacent wherever helium was expected to slumber for the night," Carranza said.

Adding to the mystery, according to Gil, was that Gutierrez Molina's workfellow who went retired with him Saturday said she could not callback parts of the night.

"It was his pistillate coworker, they some went out," Gil said. "We don't privation to disclose thing that happened to her, but she was besides a unfortunate of immoderate Fernando is going done close now. She was disoriented, but she was capable to marque it backmost to the layover hotel."

Carranza said that Gutierrez Molina's father, who besides resides successful Texas, has traveled to Colombia to assistance section authorities successful the hunt for his son. The advancement of the hunt being conducted by Colombian authorities was unclear.

Manuel Villa Mejía, the information caput for Medellín, said successful a connection Thursday that his "top priority" was locating Gutierrez Molina "safe and sound." Mejía said that Gutierrez Molina had gone retired with colleagues "to an constitution successful El Poblado," and past the radical had moved to a antithetic location.

"Since that time, his whereabouts stay unknown," Mejía said. "Consequently, the protocol for searching for missing persons was activated immediately."

Mejía said Colombian officials are coordinating with the U.S. Embassy and Gutierrez Molina's family, including his father.

"We volition stay connected the ground, moving tirelessly and without pause, until we find him — hopefully precise soon — truthful that helium whitethorn beryllium reunited with his family," Mejía said.

In a connection provided to CBS News Texas, American Airlines said it was "actively engaged with section instrumentality enforcement officials successful their probe and doing each we tin to enactment our squad member's household during this time."

When reached by CBS News Texas, the U.S. Embassy successful Colombia said it was "restricted from speaking astir about idiosyncratic cases owed to national privateness laws."

The State Department besides said successful its ain connection to CBS News Texas that it was "aware" of "reports" of Gutierrez Molina's disappearance and was "closely tracking the situation."

"The Trump Administration has nary greater precedence than the information and information of Americans, and the State Department stands acceptable to supply each consular assistance to Americans successful request abroad," the State Department said.

A spokesperson for the Association of Professional Flight Attendants besides told CBS News successful a connection that it was "supporting each efforts to find the missing unit member."

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