Monday 21 November 2016

Missing children: an unsolved major issue today. Diana Quer.


By Eli Tatyanova Petkova (4th year ESO)
In the United States, about half a million children disappear annually. More than 100,000 children disappear in England each year too, although some say that the figure is much higher. The former Soviet Union reports tens of thousands of missing children. In South Africa, it is said that the amount exceeds ten thousand. In Germany, it's not any better, and an estimated 100,000 children are reported missing every year, according to the data of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. Millions of children suffer the same fate in Latin America and all over the world. The statistics about the problem can't be considered as very reliable mainly because of the lack of a common definition of 'missing child'.
    






When the figures include adults, the situation isn't much better, with thousands of disappearances each year without any apparent cause, with the consequent suffering for the families. In many cases, the disappearance of a person can affect the entire community, especially when it comes to a person who is financially supporting their home, as the family are left to their own fate. In Spain, in the period 2007-2011, the National Police received 72,018 complaints of disappearances, of which about 48,000 were Spanish, according to the latest data available to the Ministry of the Interior. Such is the case of Diana Quer today, in 2016.


Diana Quer, an 18 years old young woman from Madrid has been missing since the 22nd August when she was returning from the feasts in A Pobra do Caramiñal (A Coruña). Her parents say that their daughter has not left on her own free will but Diana "Is held". Researchers have found a message in the mobile phone of a friend from Madrid, where the young woman tells that a man is calling her. "Brunette, come here," he says to his 'friend', moments later his interlocutor sends her a message but Diana does not read it. From that moment, her phone is off. Since her relatives submitted the complaint to the Civil Guard after verifying her absence, local police officers and several Civil Protection groups of volunteers from A Pobra, Porto do Son, Boiro and Ribeira, as well as relatives and neighbours are collaborating in the search.
The girl is 1.75 meters high, has long straight dark hair, dark eyes and weighs about 55 kilos. The last time she was seen she was wearing pink shorts, a white T-shirt and sweatshirt, and black lace-up sneakers.
Almost 80 days after her disappearance, the investigation has taken a radical turn. The Guardia Civil believes that Diana was kidnapped when she left the feast at A Pobra to return home. From the moment that Diana was raised against her will to a vehicle, the movements of the girl's mobile are the only clue. And according to research sources, messages from friends and phone connections are disheartening. 

After sending a message about an attendant who had intimidated her, Diana returned to seemingly quiet sight. In 15 minutes, the cell phone gave a signal again in Taragoña, at about 4:00. It takes just about 15 minutes to drive that distance at that time, but where was Diana taken after she threw her cell phone to the sea near the Pier of Taragoña? Researchers tracked the area of Taragoña with specialist dogs in search of dead bodies, thinking about the worst of the outcomes. They did not find it but, when a gatherer of shellfish found her mobile more than a week ago, it supported the hypothesis of the abduction or forced disappearance. Taragoña would only be a transit point to eliminate evidence. 
  

Now, they focus on solving where the mysterious vehicle left the main road, before (there are several exits between A Pobra and Taragoña), or after Taragoña, and, in what direction? Even so, they will try to decipher the content of the girl's cell phone in case that WhatsApp provides any unexpected information. But, not believing that Diana was with someone known, they do not expect much from those messages. They are trying to get the information but it will take long as they don't know Diana's PIN. As Telecinco news have reported, they will only have 10 attempts. If they do not get the correct PIN after that, the content will be deleted automatically. That blocking and deletion action could be overridden by Apple but they will never accept such a proposal because it would endanger the security of all iPhones in the world.
While keeping the search for criminal profiles, as in all investigations, sexual harassers have been checked, as well as those who were released from jail under permission on that weekend. Everything is being reviewed, because, eventually, the key data will make the pieces of the puzzle fit together.
Today they still go on with the investigation, but they do not know yet why and where the young 18 year-old woman is. We've just learnt that the car where her cellular was thrown from has been found and the police have been able to recover 70% of the data stored in it.
Fonts used in this article:

The photographs were taken from:
1) http://s.libertaddigital.com/2016/08/25/954/0/sos-desaparecidos.jpg
2) https://www.google.es/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwjT7s6MibrQAhUJ0RQKHVNpC88QjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.emaze.com%2F%40AZIFTOLQ%2FIdentidad-de-los-desaparecidos&psig=AFQjCNFM8H0JaMsSkfEwaOq-gUfsmAx8gg&ust=1479825288367747&cad=rjt 
3) http://cdn.20m.es/img2/recortes/2016/09/09/339259-800-1132.jpg?v=20160909153710

4) http://www.abc.es/media/espana/2016/11/07/diiiana-k0qE--300x168@abc.jpg
5)http://imagenes.lainformacion.com/2016/08/25/asuntos-sociales/personas-desaparecidas/Vecinos-Pobra-Coruna-madrilena-desaparecida_947615984_111842134_667x375.jpg
6)http://www.lavanguardia.com/r/GODO/LV/p3/WebSite/2016/11/13/Recortada/20161027-636131924797022815_20161027191848-k0xD-U411798396797F0-992x558@LaVanguardia-Web.jpg



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