An American Airlines flight attendant has vanished during a stopover in Colombia, leaving his loved ones anxiously seeking information.
Fernando Gutiérrez, 32, had recently arrived in Medellín from Miami on Saturday and was meant to stay overnight before his return flight to the United States.
While staying in Rionegro, Gutiérrez ventured to Medellín’s El Poblado district with a female colleague known as Andrea for an evening out, as reported by Colombian news source Telemedellín.
The duo visited a nightclub where they encountered two men who invited them to continue the evening elsewhere, according to a friend.
However, hours later, authorities found Andrea in a confused state in El Poblado and took her to a medical facility. Gutiérrez’s whereabouts remain unknown.
“We traced his phone to a residential area in Medellín, but we haven’t been able to reach him,” his friend Sharom Gil told the publication. “Our messages no longer go through.”
Gutiérrez, who is based out of the Dallas–Fort Worth area, has been reported missing in both the US and Colombia as his family searches for answers.
‘Eric Fernando Gutiérrez Molina, an American citizen and flight attendant for [American Airlines] is missing in Medellín,’ Alejandro Murcia, a US–based elected official who represents Colombians abroad, said on X. ‘His family is desperate.’
Dallas-based flight attendant Fernando Gutiérrez, 32, went missing in Medellín, Colombia on Saturday night
Gutiérrez was in Colombia for a layover before flying back to Miami when he went out to a nightclub with a friend
The last known trace of Gutiérrez was a message sent in the early hours of the morning sharing his location at an Airbnb in El Poblado.
‘We don’t have anything else,’ Gil said.
She added that she contacted Dallas police to report him missing and said American Airlines had notified the US Embassy in Colombia.
However, the Dallas Police Department told the Daily Mail on Thursday morning: ‘We were not able to locate any information on this alleged missing person case.’
Another friend, Karla Amaya–Lovo, called Gutiérrez’s disappearance ‘terrifying and urgent.’
Amaya–Lovo reiterated that Gutiérrez had gone out and claimed that ‘according to reports from fellow crew members, he was last seen leaving a nightclub.’
She also raised concerns that Gutiérrez may have been drugged, noting how his female colleague had been found disoriented and later hospitalized.
On Thursday morning, Amaya–Lovo told the Daily Mail that there was ‘no new information’ to provide about her friend, adding a crying emoji.
She added that the search for Gutiérrez was ‘still going on’ in Colombia.
American Airlines acknowledged that Gutiérrez was missing and told the Daily Mail it was working with Colombian authorities in their investigation to find the missing flight attendant
Gutiérrez was staying in Rionegro (pictured), home to Medellín’s international airport, but went out in Medellín
Colombian authorities have launched an emergency search for the missing flight attendant, El Colombiano reported.
One theory is that one of the men who approached Gutiérrez claimed he knew Medellín very well and could show him around but this was not confirmed, according to the outlet.
So far this year, 124 people have been reported missing in Medellín, with 104 found alive, 18 still missing and two found dead.
Investigators are reviewing camera footage from the area where Gutiérrez was last seen in an effort to reconstruct his movements the night he went missing.
However, no new information has been released by Colombian or American authorities about the timeline of his disappearance or possible whereabouts.
The US Department of State currently urges Americans to ‘reconsider travel’ to Colombia because of ‘crime, terrorism, civil unrest, and kidnapping.’
It warned travelers that murder, assault and theft were common in ‘many areas’ of Colombia.
Sharom Gil, Gutiérrez’s friend, said he went out with a colleague named Andrea who had later been found disoriented and hospitalized
Another friend, Karla Amaya–Lovo, told the Daily Mail on Thursday morning that there were no updates to report on Gutiérrez’s disappearance
A public social media profile for Gutiérrez said he had been a flight attendant since December 2017.
American Airlines told the Daily Mail: ‘We are actively engaged with local law enforcement officials in their investigation and doing all we can to support our team member’s family during this time.’
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants, the labor union that represents American Airlines flight attendants, told NBC 5 it was ‘actively supporting all efforts to help locate our missing colleague in Colombia.’
A US Department of State spokesperson told the Daily Mail that it was aware of the situation and monitoring Gutiérrez’s reported disappearance.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the US Embassy in Colombia and Sharom Gil for further comment.
