The authorities of the state of Bolívar confirmed this Monday, December 22, the discovery of two bodies near the Macagua dam, in Ciudad Guayana. Relatives identified the bodies as those of Alexander Airan Alvarado Reyes, 15 years old, and Ashleikert Eduardo Ríos Salamanca, 17, who had been missing since December 15.
Both teenagers, amateur boxers, left their homes in the UD-145 and UD-146 neighborhoods of Saint Felix to jog along Pedro Palacios Herrera-Leopoldo Sucre Figarella Avenue, as part of his physical routine prior to training. They never returned.
From that night, family, friends and neighbors began a search that lasted seven days, accompanied by public complaints and protests to demand greater action from the authorities, local media reported.
Search, protests and discovery of bodies in Ciudad Guayana
During the days after the disappearance, relatives received multiple anonymous messages indicating the alleged locations of the young people in different parts of the city, such as the vicinity of the Universidad de Oriente and the Olympic Village in Ciudad Guayana. None of these clues turned out to be true.
On Saturday, December 20, Those close to the adolescents gathered at the El Dorado vial to demand effective support in the search. The demonstration was guarded by officials from the Bolivarian National Guard, the Scientific, Criminal and Criminal Investigations Corps (Cicpc) and the Bolivarian National Police. The mother of one of the young people refused to leave the scene without concrete commitments to action.
“Not one animal was lost, there are two human lives,” he then expressed through tears, while asking for the intervention of regional and national authorities, including Attorney General Tarek William Saab.
On Monday at noon, Staff from the Antonio José de Sucre Hydroelectric Power Plant saw two bodies floating in the water, which activated a police operation. Relatives were taken to the site and confirmed the identity of the teenagers.
Cicpc officials carried out the removal of the bodies, which They showed signs of decomposition and sunburn.. One of the bodies was found face up and the other face down. Subsequently, they were transferred to the agency’s headquarters in San Félix for the corresponding forensic protocols.
Relatives pointed out that both young people still had their shoes on, a detail that they considered striking and which ruled out, in their opinion, that they had voluntarily jumped into the water. However, they stressed that forensic experts will determine the causes and circumstances of death.
Community demands answers
The authorities have not yet offered an official version of what happened, nor have they specified the date or cause of the teenagers’ deaths. The San Félix community remains shocked and demands clear answers about the case.
Over the last month, at least six teenagers have been reported missing in the area. Two of them were found dead and two others returned to their homes.
Among the recent cases, that of Josué Mata Jiménez stands out, murdered in the home of an acquaintance and abandoned in a vacant lot after being burned. For this fact, three people remain detained.
The families insist that the death of the two young people not go unpunished and reiterate their call for a thorough and transparent investigation.
