He disappears at the Prat airport and appears 30 years later in the cemetery, the mystery of José’s death

Barcelona, ​​September 27, 1991. Here begins a story that seems incredible, but that, unfortunately, helps us understand that there are things that seem like they can’t happen, and they do happen. Furthermore, these generate great pain for human beings who suffer for their loved ones. A lack of empathy and professionalism on the part of police forces and judicial bodies translates into suffering, and in thirty years without knowing where the brother of Luis Bruscaa young Argentine who had arrived in Catalonia at the end of the 90s. Joséonly 18 years old, was supposed to arrive at El Prat Airport that afternoon, but he never met his family, as RAC1 has now revealed. It took him and his mother 34 years to find out where his brother was. And it was not far from where they had started looking for him, but no one knew how – or wanted to? – to help them.

After several police and consular obstacles, on October 11 of that year Luis was able to report the disappearance of young José. First, the National Police asked him to wait three days before making the complaint. Then, they asked him for a certificate ensuring that he was in the State regularly, which he had to request from the Argentine consulate in Barcelona. The complaint, however, was of little use. First the weeks, then the months, and also the years, passed without anyone providing any news about where he was or could be. José. The family posted ads looking for the young man and also followed some leads that friends and acquaintances gave them. They were both actors, they dedicated themselves to acting in various places around the world, and they even went to Pariswhere a person said they had seen it. No luck. The request for help from Europol was of no use either. Tests of DNA and collaboration in research projects on missing persons were of no use, either.

The Mossos locate the body in El Prat

It was only when Luís presented a new complaint to the Mossos d’Esquadra that this mysterious case began to be clarified. After more than 30 years, the Catalan police were able to confirm that José had died on the same day he disappeared. His body was located near the control tower of the Prat Airport, a restricted area where no one could access without authorization. As if that were not enough, the case became even more mysterious. What was José doing in a prohibited area, near the control tower? How did he die?

The discovery of the body, on the same afternoon of September 27, occurred thanks to an airport worker, who saw a body fall from the control tower. Despite this, the initial investigation was not very exhaustive on the part of the Civil Guardthe body that currently still controls the interior area of ​​the Prat Airport. The body was not immediately identified and an autopsy was not performed, making it difficult to determine the exact cause of death. Furthermore, testimonies who worked in the tower confirmed that they did not remember anyone having accessed the area without permission. The body was transferred to the Prat cemetery, but no one linked Luís’ complaint with the body located at the airport.

What happened on September 27?

For more than thirty years, no one lifted a finger except his family. Now it has been possible to locate the body and close this chapter, knowing that the young man died that same afternoon, but still without knowing what happened. Fell? Where from? Did someone hurt him and throw him there? Was it a series of mismanagement and inefficiency of a police system (thirty years ago, police computer systems were not what they are now, where everything is connected) or did someone want to hide something? Luís’ family has put itself in the hands of the Girona lawyer Benet Salellas to be able to claim responsibilities for the negligent management of the case. Salellas assures that they have the right to compensation for all the pain caused by the administration: “The family has suffered a serious lack of care and they have every right to demand compensation for the lack of empathy and poor management”he explained to RAC1.