Natacha de Crombrugghe: How was it determined that the remains found in the Colca River belonged to the Belgian tourist?

Since her disappearance, registered on January 23, 2022, of the Belgian tourist Natacha de Crombrugghe, it was only known that she left for the Colca Valley and her apparent last minutes alive were recorded by a hotel camera. However, eight months later, the case obtained its first clues after found bone remains in the bed of the Colca River, in Huambo.

This Thursday, October 6, the El Pedregal Provincial Criminal Prosecutor’s Office, in charge of the provincial prosecutor José Manuel Lazo Paz, confirmed the worst news that the parents of the foreigner could receive; the bone remains found belonged to Natacha.

How was it determined that she was Natacha de Crombrugghe?

According to tax information, the identity of Natasha of Crombrugghe confirmed through a DNA test performed on the victim’s parents, Eric de Crombugghe and Sabine Verhelts, at the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of Ayacucho.

Carlos Alberto Tello Ayllón, coordinator of the Molecular and Genetic Biology Unit, was in charge of the process and was able to determine, by homologating the samples obtained with the femur foundthe biological kinship and identity of the Belgian citizen.

The case

In January, the Belgian tourist Natasha of Crombrugghe He stayed at a hotel in the district of Cabanaconde (Arequipa) with the intention of getting to know the ‘Oasis’, a very popular tourist area on the edge of the Colca River.

However, the parents of Natasha They reported their daughter’s disappearance to the Belgian consulate in Lima since January 23, the last day they knew of her whereabouts.

A month after his disappearance, a new video appeared dated January 23, where you can see Natasha of Crombrugghe enter a hotel in Cabanaconde called “Pachamama”. Then, the tourist exchanges words with two workers and asks them for the cost of a room.

However, Natasha could not stay in the place due to the cost of each room (between 80 and 100 soles). Immediately afterwards, the foreigner left the hotel and disappeared without leaving any trace.