Share and Follow
A flight attendant working for American Airlines vanished under mysterious circumstances after flying from Miami to Colombia, with his disappearance occurring just before he was scheduled to return the following day.
Colombian authorities have initiated a search to locate Eric Fernando Gutiérrez Molina. The last reported sighting of the flight attendant was in the early hours of March 22 in the La America Neighborhood, as noted in a public alert for missing persons.
At 32 years old, Gutiérrez Molina, who is based out of Dallas-Fort Worth, had been working a flight from Miami to Colombia on March 21. However, he disappeared during the layover in Colombia, according to NBC 5 DFW.
Sharom Gil, a friend of Fernando’s, shared with TeleMedellín that Fernando and a colleague were out enjoying the nightlife in the El Poblado neighborhood after their work shift.
According to Gil, the group encountered another individual who suggested continuing the night at a different venue after the club had closed, inviting them to tag along.
While there, Gil said the group met another guy “who wanted to take the party to another place” after the club closed and invited them to join.
Fernando’s last contact was a message he sent in the early morning hours of March 22, the outlet reported, sharing his location at an Airbnb in El Poblado.
According to a report from NBC 5’s Larry Collins, the coworker Fernando was with that night was found in the residential area “disoriented” and was taken to a local medical center.
Fernando’s phone was later recovered in the residential area, but there was no sign of the flight attendant.
Former FBI Agent Describes “Red Flags” in Eric Fernando Gutiérrez Molina Case
Investigators are now working to try to determine his last known movements.
Arturo Fontes—a retired FBI agent who founded a company that often works missing persons cases in South America—described one of the “red flags” as the fact that Fernando remains missing after several days.
“What they’re going to do normally is go to the last location he’s been to, whether it’s a bar or a restaurant,” he said of investigator’s likely next movements,” he told NBC DFW. “And then they’re going to track maybe the cameras and try to locate where the last place he went. If he had a cellphone, the first thing they will look at is the telephone to see what his last location was.”
Fontes—who does not have any direct connection to Fernando’s case—expressed the need for urgency as the search for the missing flight attendant continues.
American Airlines declined to provide any information about Fernando’s employment history or work schedule to Oxygen.
“We are actively engaged with local law enforcement officials in their investigation,” the company said in a statement, “and doing all we can to support our team member’s family during this time.”