This month marks one year since Daniel and Francisco, now aged 11 and six, were abducted by their mother in Torrevieja. The minors remain missing, the focus of an ongoing international search. Since 20th September 2025, the daily lives of their fathers (the boys are half-brothers from the same mother) have completely halted as they concentrate every effort on locating them.
A search against the clock conducted by the Guardia Civil and Interpol has so far failed to trace the mother. She may have taken the children out of the country by bus to hide with them before a judge could revoke her custody of Francisco over psychological issues. While Judicial Police handle the official enquiry in Spain, the desperate fathers have stepped forward to start an independent search.
In a statement, they expressed frustration: “Despite institutional efforts, there is no trace of their whereabouts since the moment of the abduction. Time passes, the silence is unbearable, and international bureaucracy plays against us relentlessly. Every passing day is another day of danger for our children, hidden away, without identity, without schooling, unable to visit a hospital if they need to.”
Frustrated by waiting for news, Tiberio and Francisco launched a fundraising appeal to finance private investigators to trace the children and bring them back to Alicante. They noted that official channels are not proving sufficient, forcing them to turn to expensive international private options. The raised funds will hire specialized international private detectives, cover legal, translation, and logistics fees across suspected destination countries, and launch widespread social media advertising campaigns featuring the boys’ faces.
The campaign, published on GoFundMe, has raised over 1,700 euro since late July, aiming for 4,000 euro to cover all search expenses.
In March, the fathers took legal action against the CEIP Ciudad del Mar primary school for failing to inform them that the children had been absent for two weeks. The catalyst for the mother’s flight was a court hearing set for 23rd September 2025 to adjust custody arrangements, where she was expected to lose custody of Francisco after failing to comply with multiple court orders and recommendations. Her lawyers requested a postponement, but having fled on 20th September, she did not find out. The children missed school that whole week.
Upon realising the children had been missing for two weeks, Francisco filed a missing person report at the Guardia Civil station in Torrevieja, while Tiberio reported it to the Mossos d’Esquadra. The Guardia Civil, Interpol, and private detectives continue their search to locate the minors, arrest the mother, and end a year-long nightmare for the fathers.
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