SHARE
COPY LINK

COLOMBIA

Family of Swede lost in Colombia fear worst

A 26-year old Swedish man has been reported missing in Colombia. The family of Jan Braunisch, from Norrköping, were last in contact with him in May and have now contacted Interpol to try and find him.

Family of Swede lost in Colombia fear worst

Braunisch arrived in Colombia on May 8th and was intending to travel on to Panama. He emailed his wife in the middle of May, but since then there has been zero communication, reported the Expressen newspaper on Thursday.

“I’ve reported him missing to the police,” said his sister Aleqzia who added that her brother was a veteran traveller.

“He’s well used to travelling. Recently, he spent six months in Africa by himself.”

Braunisch was keeping a blog of his trip but hasn’t updated it since May 15th. His last post mentioned his intention to visit Panama where he would have to cross the notorious Darien jungle region which borders the two countries.

The region is known as a haven for drug cartels and guerilla paramilitaries.

“I’m in riosucio now, on the atrato river. From here it’s not far from panama. There are supposedly quite many paths from here to panama. We’ll see how it goes,” wrote Braunisch in his last email.

It is understood that the young traveller, who has already visited 50 countries, was intending to spend three months exploring South America. He described on his blog that the adventure would include ‘walking through at least one jungle.’

He was studying for his PhD in statistics at Purdue University in the US. Braunisch is fluent in five languages and his blog is entitled ‘9 countries, 3 months.’

“I don’t know what to think or what might have happened to him. It’s obvious that his trip has taken a new turn but I still hope to hear from him. It’s possible he does not have any (mobile) coverage,” added his sister Aleqzia.

One commenter on his blog was not holding out hope for Braunisch’s safe return writing: “Only narco guerrillas, highly trained combat-jungle police, indigenous people who didn’t see anything, and nasty critters go through there. This is probably one of the most dangerous areas south of the US border.”

TT/The Local/pr

Follow The Local on Twitter

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

SKIING

Spain mourns Blanca Fernández Ochoa, the Olympian skier found dead in Madrid’s sierra

The body of former Spanish alpine skimedallist Blanca Fernández Ochoa was found Wednesday in a mountainous area near Madrid after days of searches for her by hundreds of police and volunteers, officials said.

Spain mourns Blanca Fernández Ochoa, the Olympian skier found dead in Madrid's sierra
Archive photo of Blanca Fernández Ochoa during her Olympic career.

The 56-year-old — won a bronze skiing for Spain in the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, becoming the country's first female Winter Olympic medallist — had been missing since she was last spotted on surveillance video at a shopping centre on August 24th.

Her car was later found at a parking lot near the start of a hiking trail in Cercedilla, a mountainous village near Madrid. The authorities said they are still investigating the cause of her death.

“Solidarity, support and human warmth have been felt these days in the mountains of Cercedilla. Security forces and many volunteers have taken part in the search for Blanca Fernández Ochoa. But nothing could be done. My affection to all her family,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez tweeted.

Hundreds of police, firefighters, forest rangers and volunteers, backed by helicopters, drones and tracking dogs, had taken part in the search for Fernández Ochoa.

Her family only alerted the authorities about her disappearance on August 29th because they said it was not unusual for her to go on hikes in the area, even without her phone, according to Spanish media reports.

Police on Saturday issued an appeal on social media for help from the public in locating Fernández Ochoa along with a picture of her, which drew media attention to her disappearance.

She was well known in Spain, where she had taken part in several TV reality shows after retiring from sports.

Her older brother, Francisco Fernández Ochoa, won a gold medal for skiing in the 1972 Winter Olympics in Japan. He is the first and only Spaniard to have won a gold medal at the Winter Olympics.   

There is a statue in his honour in Cercedilla.   

Until 2018 the brother and sister were the only Spaniards to have won medals at a Winter Olympics.

“It is a very sad day for Spanish sports,” Spain's secretary of state for sports, Maria Jose Rienda, said in a statement.

READ ALSO: Snowboarder from Ceuta wins Olympic medal for Spain

SHOW COMMENTS