The investigation into the unsolved disappearance of five-year-old Loan Danilo Peña in Corrientes Province last June has concluded, with prosecutors requesting the case be elevated to trial.
Loan vanished on 13 June 2024 while picking oranges near his grandmother’s home in the town of Nueve de Julio. Despite extensive searches, he has not been found – if anything the investigation has only deepened the mystery surrounding his disappearance.
On Thursday, Federal Prosecutor Enrique Mariano De Guzmán, along with Marcelo Colombo and Alejandra Mangano from Argentina’s Office for Trafficking and Exploitation of Persons (PROTEX), submitted a request seeking the closure of the investigation to Federal Judge Cristina Pozzer Penzo.
The request, reported by the Noticias Argentinas news agency, includes charges against seven individuals, including allegations of involvement in the child's abduction and subsequent concealment of information and/or evidence.
The accused are: Bernardino Antonio Benítez, Loan's uncle; Laudelina Peña, his aunt; Daniel 'Fierrito' Ramírez; Mónica del Carmen Millapi; María Victoria Caillava, a former municipal official; Caillava’s husband, retired Navy officer Carlos Pérez; and former Police commissioner Walter Adrián Maciel.
Loan’s shocking disappearance drew global attention, with Pope Francis mentioning Loan's disappearance during a general audience in January 2025.
The late pontiff voiced concerns over the possibility that Loan was abducted for organ-trafficking, stating: “Some come back with a scar, others die. That's why today I want to remember this boy, Loan.”
As the legal process moves forward, defence lawyers for the accused have six days to file any objections to the request.
If a trial is confirmed, the court will set a date for the proceedings.
The investigation has been roundly criticised for its delayed response and incompetence, with local judges detaining six people, including Loan's uncle and a local police commissioner, on suspicions they impeded the investigation.
Local demonstrators took to the streets in the region to demand information about Loan’s whereabouts, reflecting frustration with the provincial justice system.
– TIMES/NA/PERFIL
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