Colombian authorities found a body during the search for Eric Fernando Gutierrez Molina, a 32-year-old American Airlines flight attendant who vanished during a layover in Medellín, and officials say the people last seen with him have a known history of drugging and robbing tourists.
Medellín Mayor Federico Gutiérrez broke the news on X, writing that a lifeless body had been found in a rural area between the municipality of Jericó and Puente Iglesias, south of the city. The body has not been formally identified, but the mayor said the probability is high that it belongs to Gutierrez Molina.
The discovery caps a grim week that began when Gutierrez Molina failed to return for his scheduled flight after arriving from Miami. What started as a missing-persons case now looks far worse, and the details emerging from Colombian investigators point to a predatory criminal scheme that has long plagued foreign visitors in the country's major cities.
Investigators in Medellín said Gutierrez Molina went out Saturday night in the El Poblado neighborhood with a male colleague and a female coworker identified only as Andrea. The group met two men who suggested taking the party to another nightclub. The male colleague did not join. Gutierrez Molina and Andrea went with the strangers.
Hours later, authorities found Andrea in a disoriented state. She was taken to a hospital. Gutierrez Molina was nowhere to be found.
His boyfriend, Ernesto Carranza, said he first realized something was wrong Sunday morning when he still had not heard from Gutierrez Molina. Carranza told reporters that the last exchange between them came Saturday night:
"I messaged him [on Saturday night to] have a good night, be safe, I love you. And he just messaged back: 'Okay, I love you back. I'm going to go out and hang with my crews.'"
Carranza said he knew immediately that something had gone wrong when Gutierrez Molina's personal phone went silent, because even a dead battery would not have prevented him from using his work phone as a backup.
At a press conference on Thursday, Colombian officials said they had identified the individuals who were with Gutierrez Molina and Andrea the night he disappeared. Those individuals, officials said, had a history of stealing from tourists by spiking their drinks with scopolamine, a powerful drug sometimes called "Devil's Breath."
The U.S. Embassy in Colombia has warned that scopolamine can leave a person unconscious for 24 hours or more and can wipe out all memory of what happened. Offenders in Medellín, Bogotá, and other major Colombian cities frequently use the drug to incapacitate victims before robbing them. The Washington Times reported that Colombian authorities confirmed the identified suspects had a documented pattern of using scopolamine to render victims unconscious before stealing from them.
Medellín's security secretary, Manuel Villa Mejia, reportedly described Andrea's condition upon her return to the hotel, saying "the woman who was with him... arrived at the hotel where they were staying, but she indicated that she arrived somewhat disoriented." That account is consistent with the known effects of scopolamine exposure.
The drug is not a new problem. Travelers to Colombia have been warned about it for years. But warnings only go so far when the criminals who deploy it operate in popular nightlife districts and target people who have no reason to suspect a stranger's friendliness is a setup.
Gutierrez Molina's father traveled to Medellín to search for his son. Authorities said they provided him with emotional and legal support during the ordeal. When the body was found, Mayor Gutiérrez said he personally delivered the news.
The mayor wrote on X:
"I have just personally delivered the painful news to his father, who is in Medellín."
Gutiérrez added that investigators had made significant progress. He stated that the police and the Prosecutor's Office have "very advanced" investigations and "very clear leads on those responsible." He closed with a two-word demand: "Let justice be done."
The New York Post reported that the body was transported to Medellín for formal identification and autopsy. No suspects have been publicly charged, and no official cause of death has been announced.
Fox News confirmed that American Airlines said it is assisting Colombian law enforcement in the ongoing investigation. The search for Gutierrez Molina had been active since Sunday.
Several critical questions hang over the case. The body has not been formally confirmed as Gutierrez Molina's, only described as having a "very high probability" of being his. No charges have been filed against the identified individuals. Andrea's current medical condition has not been publicly disclosed. And the exact circumstances of how Gutierrez Molina ended up dead in a rural area dozens of miles from the nightclub district where he was last seen remain unexplained.
The gap between El Poblado, a trendy neighborhood in central Medellín, and the remote stretch between Jericó and Puente Iglesias tells its own story. Someone moved this man a long way from where he was last seen alive. Cases involving bodies discovered in rural areas often present investigators with significant forensic challenges, and formal identification can take time.
Colombian officials have promised progress. Mayor Gutiérrez's public statements suggest confidence in the investigation. But promises from officials are not convictions. The identified suspects have a documented history, which means authorities may have known about these individuals before Gutierrez Molina ever set foot in Medellín. That raises an uncomfortable question: how many tourists have to be drugged and robbed, or worse, before known predators are taken off the street?
Scopolamine attacks on tourists in Colombia are not isolated incidents. They are a recognized pattern, documented by the U.S. Embassy, reported by local and international media, and apparently well known to Medellín law enforcement. The individuals identified in this case were not first-time offenders, if investigators' own statements are to be believed. They had a history.
Eric Fernando Gutierrez Molina was 32 years old. He was a flight attendant on a routine layover. He went out with coworkers in a popular neighborhood. He texted his boyfriend goodnight. And now his father is in Medellín, receiving the worst news a parent can hear, delivered personally by the city's mayor. Tragic discoveries like this one leave families shattered and communities demanding answers.
American travelers deserve to know that the cities they visit, or are sent to for work, take violent crime against foreigners seriously. Not after the fact. Not at a press conference. Before the next victim walks into a nightclub and meets the wrong stranger.
