An American Airlines flight attendant has gone missing during a layover in Colombia, leaving his family desperate for answers. Fernando Gutiérrez, 32, had just landed in Medellín from Miami on Saturday and was scheduled to spend the night before flying back to the US. Gutiérrez was staying in Rionegro and headed to Medellín's El Poblado neighborhood with a female colleague - identified only as Andrea - for a night out, according to Colombian outlet Telemedellín. The pair went to a nightclub and met two men who suggested continuing the party somewhere else, according to a friend. But hours later, Andrea was found disoriented by authorities in El Poblado and rushed to a medical center. Gutiérrez has not been seen since.
'We tracked the phone to a residential area in Medellín, but we haven't been able to talk to him,' his friend Sharom Gil told the outlet. 'Our messages don't reach him anymore.'
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.'
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.
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. 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.' The Daily Mail has reached out to the US Embassy in Colombia, the US Department of State and Sharom Gil for further comment.