The young Colombian traveled to learn Portuguese, disappeared in the triple border and was found dead ten days later.
News International.
Since noon on Monday, October 13, 2025, the life of the Bonilla family was transformed into a harrowing search in the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguaçu (Paraná state). That day, the 22-year-old Colombian man, Iverth Samuel Bonilla Arias, left the house where he was staying – in the Vila C. Nova neighborhood – without his phone or his documents, and since then his whereabouts have not been certain.
Samuel was studying Business and International Relations at the De La Salle University in Bogotá, and decided to travel to Brazil at the end of August 2025 with the aim of learning Portuguese, a requirement for his academic degree.
He stayed in the home of a person close to his mother in Foz do Iguaçu. There he lived peacefully until his mother reported that he felt alone and strange: “Last weekend I was strangely very sad, perhaps my son’s sadness…” he declared to different capital media.
Between those days, his girlfriend traveled from Colombia to accompany him; They remained together in Rio de Janeiro until October 10, after which they returned to Foz do Iguaçu. Shortly after, there was an argument and a publication on Instagram – from an account that they did not recognize as his – in which he expressed his intention to take his own life, according to CAMBIO Colombia.
Disappearance and the request for help
On October 13, around noon, Samuel left the house without taking his cell phone or personal documents. Since they had no contact, their parents, Andrea Arias and Fabián Bonilla, reacted immediately: the mother traveled to Brazil around October 15 and the father also prepared to travel.
It was then that the father took to social media to spread the family’s desperation: in a video posted on TikTok (@tutankmamon1) he said:
“Hello, I’m Fabián Bonilla. I thought I was going to use social networks for more fun things, really. But today I want to ask for help from you who are watching me on the other side. I have my lost son. He is in Brazil.”
He added that the area is large, that it is close to the border between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay and that they needed to mobilize to travel it:
“The help I ask of you is to spread this message to see if anyone can recognize it between the borders of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.”
The family also requested financial support to travel, get a vehicle and hire a private investigation, as they felt the “indifference” of some Brazilian authorities.
The search, step by step
During those days, efforts were made both by family members and independently:
- The mother walked for more than 12 hours in rural areas of Foz do Iguaçu on October 19, until she was left with blisters on her feet.
- The father spread posters, videos and asked citizens in three bordering countries to report any clues.
- According to the media, Samuel did not know the Brazilian city well, which complicated his location after leaving the house without documents.
- Brazilian authorities received the missing person report on October 15, according to the mother.
Despite efforts, there was no early public information about concrete clues about the young man.
Finding and current status of the case
On Thursday, October 23, 2025, after ten days of uncertainty, the parents confirmed that Samuel’s body had been found lifeless and was fully identified at the Foz do Iguaçu Scientific Police.
The father declared sadly:
“Unfortunately, the search has just ended. We are here at the Foz do Iguaçu Scientific Police and the body is now fully identified. Our son has died. Thank you for all your support.”
So far, the causes of death and the exact circumstances under which it occurred have not been officially published.
In a new video, the parents requested support for the procedures for repatriating the body to Colombia and thanked them for the expressions of solidarity received.
