Panama reports 375 missing persons so far this year

Panama.- Where do the missing go? The chorus of the song by Panamanian singer-songwriter Rubén Blades resonates in the country upon learning that in what has been of the year 375 people are missing, of which 103 are adult men. The figures up to November of last year reflect that more than 1,300 disappearances occurred in the isthmus, with more than 90% of the cases resolved, according to the authorities. Some cases involve parallel investigations in the homicide prosecutor's office, as the inquiries reveal the possible link with processes opened with other crimes, indicated prosecutor Gustavo Barragán, in statements to the television station TVN. In May 2025, the government enacted Law 469, which introduced improvements to the existing standard, obliging the Amber Alert system to have a website, social media accounts, and a mobile application so that people receive activation and deactivation notifications on their mobile phones regarding missing persons. The Amber Alert must be activated from the moment the assumptions of loss, abduction, disappearance or unknown whereabouts of a minor who has been reported occur, and the alert dissemination period cannot be less than 5 hours or more than 24 hours. Exceptionally, it is established that if it is necessary to extend beyond 24 hours, a new alert must be issued, including additional information about the case. The dissemination can be local, national, or international.

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Regarding minors, in Panama, one of the most emblematic cases of unexplained absence is that of the girl Mónica Serrano García, which occurred on February 8, 2003. The little girl, who at the time of the event was one year and six months old, mysteriously disappeared while playing in the yard of her home located in Vista Alegre de Arraiján, about 20 minutes from the capital city. For this case, the Public Ministry detained 10 people for questioning, but no conclusion was ever reached, while the theory circulated that the girl may have been sold, although there was also no evidence of this. The journalistic reports of the time indicate that on several occasions hopeful reports were given, as in 2009 when it was learned of a girl in Ecuador who could be Mónica, but DNA tests ruled out that possibility. In 2020, it was once again learned that a young resident of the Guna region of Wagardí, named Grifina López, bore a notable resemblance to Mónica, although once again genetic analyses dashed this hope. Another case of a missing minor that impacted Panamanian society is that of Aderlyn Llerena Saldaña, who at the age of 9 was last seen shortly before noon on September 13, 2022, while on her way to a school, located in the district of San Miguelito. Unlike the case of Mónica Serrano García, where there were no convicted individuals, in Aderlyn's case, Samuel Hudson was found guilty of the crimes of deprivation of liberty and abduction of minors. The girls disappeared as if by magic, and although the Public Ministry carried out the necessary investigations, no hypothesis bore fruit to find their whereabouts. Faced with the lack of effective responses to the community, the Attorney General's Office created in 2025 the Specialized Unit for Missing Persons, whose main function is to investigate cases of missing persons more effectively. With this unit, the aim is to guarantee coordination between Prosecutor's Offices, Security agencies, and other institutions, in order to provide comprehensive care to victims and their families. Among its main functions are supporting the Prosecutor's Offices that handle investigations related to disappearances, coordinating with national and international organizations involved in search and identification processes, as well as systematizing the information of each case to improve response times and avoid underreporting. Other relevant functions that it develops, states a press release from the Attorney General's Office, is the implementation of good practices in the handling of evidence and search procedures, as well as offering specialized support to affected families, in addition to having a key role in high-impact cases, prolonged disappearances, minors and situations that require complex forensic expertise. Source: INFOBAE.