The mystery of the missing children in the Colombian Amazon Torture and executions – that’s the state of the revolution in Iran

On the morning of May 1, a small Cessna 206 with 7 passengers took off from the airport in Araracuara in southern Colombia. On the plane were a mother with her four children, an indigenous leader and the pilot. However, they never reached their destination, the airport in San José del Guaviara. About halfway through the route, the plane crashed in the middle of the dense rainforest.

But the tragedy started much earlier, with the disappearance of Manuel Ranoque.

The disappearance of the father of the family

Manuel Ranoque, husband of Magdalena Mucutuy and father of their four children, was governor of the Puerto Sabalo Indigenous Reserve. A Colombian community in the middle of the Amazon jungle, accessible only by river or air.

The Colombian regional newspaper “El País” reported on Friday that he was popular. The community was all the more surprised when he suddenly disappeared without a trace overnight, leaving behind his wife and four children. For weeks, the community marveled at his abrupt disappearance. But then, when he was almost forgotten according to “El País”, he suddenly called his family.

He begged her to meet him as soon as possible and not to waste time. The reason for his disappearance finally came to light: he had been threatened by guerrillas and feared for his life. His escape from the jungle ended in the town of Villavicencio, 70 km southeast of the capital Bogotá. There he wanted to meet his family to travel with them to Bogotá and start a new life.

His wife followed his call. Hoping to see her husband and father of her children again, Magdalena Mucutuy boarded the single-engine plane on May 1 with her four children, a family friend and the pilot. It would be the last trip for the three adults.

Crash over the Amazon

The plane was only halfway through its route when pilot Hernando Murcia Morales radioed the fatal information: engine trouble. Moments before the plane disappeared between the departments of Caquetà and Guaviare, Morales was able to send out a “Maday” signal. The Civil Aviation Authority thus had an approximate coordinate of the crash site – without which the search would have been impossible.

But even with the coordinates, the rescuers faced a huge challenge. For days, the Colombian military flew over the original route between Araracuara and San Jose del Guaviare in the hopes of finding the crash site. On Monday, more than two weeks after the crash, the location of the crashed plane was determined.

The bodies of the three adults were also there. But the children were nowhere to be seen. Hopes grew that Lesly Jacobo Bonbaire (13 years old), Solecni Ranoque Mucutui (9 years old), Tien Noriel Ronoque Mucutui (4 years old) and Cristian Neryman Ranoque Mucutui (11 months old) were still alive. "Operation Hope" was launched: an elite commando with more than 100 soldiers and sniffer dogs began to comb through the dense, impassable jungle. Indigenous people living in the area also participated in the search.

The bodies of the adults were recovered on Thursday.

The children have been found...

On May 17, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced the good news on Twitter: The children had been found "after an arduous search by our armed forces". It was the sniffer dog Ulises who led the soldiers to a clearing where the group found half-eaten fruit, a baby bottle, a pair of scissors and a bag of hair bands, reports The City Paper Bogota.

The news spread nationally and internationally like wildfire: Four children found after surviving a plane crash and struggling alone in the jungle for more than two weeks.

However, the most important question remained unanswered: where were the children?

... or not?

Disillusionment followed when the president deleted his tweet Thursday morning, less than 24 hours after dropping it. He explained:

Contrary to the criticism leveled at the time, it does not seem to blame the president entirely. As the director of child protection, Astrid Caceres, told Colombian radio on Thursday morning, her office had provided the president with this information.

It was reported "from the field" and from "a reliable source" that the children had been found in good health. The indigenous people who found the children could provide an exact description of the children. But: Your authority has not yet seen the children themselves, therefore the search cannot be stopped. The soldiers of the task force have not yet been able to make contact with the children.

But not only child protection was informed of the finding of the children. Avianline, a local aircraft operator who owned the crashed plane, also received good news. One of their pilots, who landed in Cachiporro, near the crash site, was told by locals that the children had been found. They, in turn, would have learned this by radio from a remote place called Dumar. Local residents told Cachiporro residents that the children would be taken by boat to their home in Cachiporro and would arrive around 5 p.m. local time on Wednesday. Several indigenous radio stations reported this on Wednesday.

Avianline acknowledged that it could not confirm the accuracy of this information in any way. However, the arrival of the children may be delayed as the river can be too dangerous to cross during heavy rains and thunderstorms.

So far the children have not arrived.

The search continues

Although the found items indicate that the four children survived the plane crash, there is no official confirmation of their current location or health.

The grandparents of the children have not given up hope yet. The grandmother recorded an audio message in her native language, the Huitoto language, instructing the children to stop trekking through the jungle. With the help of three helicopters, this message can now be heard over the vastness of the Amazon.

Grandfather is also optimistic. He told Colombian TV channel Caracol: