CARACAS, Venezuela — Antonella Molina, her nephew Pedro Molina and several friends left at 8 a.m. on a recent Saturday, flyers in hand, cautiously navigating the shattered streets of La Guaira still scarred by two devastating earthquakes that struck ten weeks earlier.
Their goal is to locate 18‑year‑old Andrés Molina, Antonella’s nephew and Pedro’s cousin, who vanished when twin earthquakes hit Venezuela on June 24. Independent tallies suggest Andrés is among tens of thousands still unaccounted for, a figure far above the official estimate of 1,500.
Weeks earlier, Antonella and other relatives had to retrieve the bodies of Andrés’ mother and brother from the remains of their ten‑story apartment building in La Guaira, a coastal district just north of Caracas that was among the hardest hit. The building, once home to over 30 residents, yielded no trace of Andrés—not even his ever‑present backpack.
Neighbors reported seeing Andrés among the debris, scavenging for scrap metal, fueling the family’s belief that he may have survived. “There are many things that give us hope,” Antonella said. “And love is one of them.”
Official death tolls of 6,500 and a missing‑person count of 1,500 have been widely disputed by residents, even as the Venezuelan government maintains its response was swift and that the figures are “rigorously verified.”
Lacking confidence in official aid, Andrés’ family and friends have taken charge of the search themselves. “We have never received government support to help us find the disappeared,” Antonella said. “Never.”
They remain resolute to keep searching on their own until they locate him. In the immediate aftermath of the quakes, neighbors claimed to have seen Andrés wandering with an apparent head injury. The family contacted shelters, hospitals and morgues, but no information about Andrés emerged.
The family began posting flyers with Andrés’ photograph and a contact number throughout the neighborhood. Calls poured in, citing sightings at a nearby golf course, park or restaurant, yet Andrés was never found at those locations. Conversations with locals often mentioned the image of a young man feeding cats—a habit he was known to have.
The day before the renewed search, police informed Antonella that they had spotted Andrés collecting scrap material nearby, reigniting the family’s hope.
On that Saturday, roughly fifteen friends and relatives traversed the streets, passing shattered windows and toppled walls while the din of ongoing construction equipment echoed in the background.
Antonella greeted neighbors and construction workers warmly, asking, “¿Cómo estás, mi amor?” as she explained her quest to locate her nephew.
One worker claimed to have seen him near the golf course. A woman on a plastic chair said she had seen the flyers but not Andrés. Another man thought he might have been at a nearby McDonald’s, though when they mentioned tattoos, Antonella knew it could not be her nephew.
The search is further complicated by a long‑standing rift between Andrés’ mother and father—Antonella’s brother and Pedro’s uncle—that has kept the family fragmented for years. Despite efforts to stay in touch, their relationship has deteriorated, though Andrés’ father has joined the search.
Pedro had begun exchanging messages with his cousin on WhatsApp months before the earthquake, but they never met in person because Pedro lives roughly six hours away in Anzoátegui state.
Even so, Pedro wants his cousin to know he is not alone, despite the loss of his mother and brother. “We don’t know how he must feel if he is alive,” Pedro added.
In the afternoon, Antonella and Pedro approached a young woman and handed her a flyer. “Were you his neighbor?” Antonella asked. “Yes, I lived next door,” the woman replied. “My mom was friends with his mom.” She, however, had no further information about Andrés’ whereabouts.
“If I hear anything, I’ll pass along this number,” she said. “Good luck.” Antonella has begun to wonder whether Andrés might not want to be found, a suspicion reinforced by the repeated discovery of flyers torn through his face.
The search ended as usual at a nearby McDonald’s around 10 p.m., a few hours earlier than typical because Antonella had injured her arm.
“After every search I feel anger, helplessness, pain, sadness—even despair,” Antonella said. “It’s been so many days, so much effort, so many hours walking, searching, asking questions.”
“We keep receiving the same responses—‘they saw him,’ ‘they saw him,’ again and again—yet not having him in our arms remains a crushing blow,” she said.
Nevertheless, she vows to keep looking until she knows Andrés is safe. “I must keep searching until I find my nephew,” Antonella said.
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Brigida reported from Mexico City.
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