Civil Police reconstruct last steps before Romeiro disappeared between SP and MG | South of Minas

This Tuesday (2) the Civil Police reconstructed the last moments before pilgrim Pedro Donizeti Francisco disappeared between MG and SP, in Serra do Piquete. The elderly man from Varginha (MG) disappeared more than a week ago when he was heading to the city of Aparecida (SP). Pedro’s family and the Fire Department carried out searches, but did not find the pilgrim.

The work of the SP Civil Police began with the hearing of Pedro Donizeti Francisco’s son, Pedro Augusto Francisco, who was with his father moments before the pilgrim’s disappearance.

“We interviewed him so he could explain to us in detail the dynamics of how the events happened. The idea was, we filmed it, so we could see exactly how the dynamics of this disappearance happened”, explained Piquete’s delegate, Marcelo Vieira.

According to the delegate, there is no criminal suspicion so far and the so-called missing persons investigation procedure has been launched.

“The idea is also to quickly clarify how the events happened, Pedro [filho do romeiro] is helping us. We are going to do a reconstitution with the São Paulo Criminal Institute to understand exactly what the dynamics of their descent along the trail were like, their separation, their failure to meet. [Vamos fazer a] fixing points, we will raise a drone to fix this point, we will try to establish the location and the dynamics of how the events happened”, said the delegate.

The pilgrim’s son followed the work of the Civil Police. Pedro Augusto Francisco said he separated from his father for a moment, to go to the bathroom, and never found him again.

“It was a moment of seconds when I asked him to wait a little, by the time I came back he was no longer there. In my head, I thought he had gone down and continued the trail, but when I got close to the cave, I asked and no one saw him. I went back to the entire mountain and there was no sign. Alive or dead, we have to find it so that this thing doesn’t remain in our heads, where he went from”, said the son of the missing pilgrim.

Before the Civil Police began work, the pilgrim’s family members were searching to try to find the elderly man. The search was halted, however, due to “false alarms” that arrived as possible information about the whereabouts of the Varginense man.

“We had a false alarm about going there to Aparecida. We took the car, we drove there, we got there, but no one saw it, no one knows. Now we have also ended the search, because there is nowhere else to look. It’s a very sad thing, but there’s no other way out,” said Pedro Augusto Francisco, the pilgrim’s son.

The Fire Department reported that the searches were suspended on Saturday (30). According to the military, from now on, the work will be the responsibility of the Civil Police.

Anyone who has information about the whereabouts of the missing pilgrim can inform the authorities at the nearest Military Police or Fire Department base. Contact can also be made by telephone, with the PM on 190 or with the firefighters on 193.

“Our main problem, the main difficulty is information, because the information is minimal, it’s just that he disappeared on the trail. The last one he saw was his son, but it was a very short period of time that the son said that he went a little off the trail and the father disappeared. We have no information that another pilgrim saw him access another point on the trail, so information is our main difficulty”, said the 1st lieutenant of the São Paulo Fire Department, Luís Müller da Costa.

Still according to the Fire Department, another difficulty encountered by the military is the terrain, which is very rugged and densely forested.

A pilgrim who left Varginha heading to Aparecida is missing. According to the Fire Department, he disappeared on the border between Minas Gerais and São Paulo.

According to members of the pilgrimage, the elderly man’s name is Pedro Donizeti Francisco and he lives in the Ilha do Salto region, rural area of ​​Varginha. This is the second time he has participated in the walk.

Initially, firefighters reported that the victim was 77 years old. However, the family reported his age as 69 years old.

Pilgrims who were there tried to find the member of the pilgrimage, who left on Wednesday (20) heading to the Sanctuary of Aparecida. The elderly man would have disappeared around 1 pm on Monday (25).

According to members of the pilgrimage, the elderly man left with the “Romaria do Zuca” group in the company of two children and a grandson. The children and members of the organization helped with the search.

The family filed a report on the pilgrim’s disappearance at the Civil Police station in Guaratinguetá (SP).

Firefighters and sniffer dogs search for elderly man who disappeared on a pilgrimage to Aparecida

The firefighters passed along a trail, facing potholed areas, dense forest and mud. The sniffer dogs, which have high olfactory sensitivity, accompanied the firefighters on their journeys, looking for odors related to the pilgrim, which could indicate which path he followed.

Two sniffer dogs used in the actions indicated that the pilgrim left the trail, towards the BR-459 highway, which connects Lorena (SP) and Itajubá (MG). According to firefighters, this indicates that he may have hitched a ride and returned to Varginha or continued on to Aparecida.

“For us it is very sad, it is a very false alarm. I would like people to help, please. This is making us desperate,” she said.

On Saturday (30), the Fire Department resumed the search for the pilgrim. The military had the support of pilgrimages in Varginha with around 40 volunteers. The searches took place on the São Miguel Arcanjo Cave Trail, in Piquete, and on the BR-459 highway.

According to firefighters, 11 firefighters, three vehicles and approximately 40 civilian volunteers participated in the searches. More than 60 km were covered between trails, roads and highways. After all the work carried out in recent days, firefighters discarded the area they were looking for.

Also according to the Fire Department, all information was passed on to the competent authorities who will continue the investigation process. The searches carried out by the Fire Department ended on Saturday in the late afternoon. The pilgrim’s family member and the volunteers were instructed on the technical procedures carried out.

The pilgrim’s son also spoke again about a possible lack of support from “Romaria do Zuca”, a group that the elderly man was part of to reach Aparecida.

“Even sadder is knowing that the pilgrimage is not supporting us, it is not caring. The person who got lost in the woods is a human being, a life that is lost”, he said.

In a note, the pilgrimage informed that “it has dedicated great efforts to searching for the Pilgrim who got lost during the walk to Aparecida”. The association also said it was concerned about the welfare of the missing pilgrim.

“The participants in the pilgrimage coordinated efforts with the local authorities, retracing the pilgrim’s path several times, but, unfortunately, so far they have not found him. […] We are available to provide regular updates. The safety and well-being of pilgrimage participants has always been and will always be our top priority,” the pilgrimage said.