The worst fears of Marcos Olmedo’s family have been confirmed. Ten days after the 37-year-old psychologist disappeared after leaving his mother’s home in the town of Fuenlabrada, he has been found dead, according to the investigative and events desk of Prensa Ibérica.
The body was located on Thursday afternoon beside the train tracks in Leganés, about five kilometers from the last clue his brother had found before his disappearance: Marcos had left his Toyota Corolla parked in the La Serna commuter station parking lot, even though on the day he disappeared, August 18, he told his family that he was going out for a walk.
Psychiatric treatment
From the outset, Marcos’s disappearance was classified as high risk. His brother Dani told this outlet earlier this week that Marcos was not himself. He had been in psychiatric care for three months since his first appointment on May 13 at a specialty center affiliated with Fuenlabrada Hospital.
The psychiatrist who evaluated him found, after speaking with him and his mother, that Marcos suffered from elevated anxiety, low mood, and persistent rumination about fears of rejection in his personal relationships, but ruled out suicidal thoughts or death-related ideation.
She lowered the dosage
The brother explained that Marcos’s health had deteriorated in recent weeks: his condition worsened after, following three half-hour sessions, the psychiatrist decided to reduce his medication dosage. He said this was against their wishes and without consulting the psychologist who had been dedicating real time to his case. The decision appeared to be based on what the clinician observed during two or three visits, totaling about an hour and a half to two hours, when the patient seemed better in those moments.
The association Sos Desaparecidos and its lawyer, Juan Manuel Medina, had been rallying to assist Marcos’s family. This Friday they removed the alert poster after learning of his body’s discovery.
On the day of his disappearance, Marcos appeared particularly despondent. After a few days of rest at Piles Beach in Valencia with his mother, Pilar, he had returned to Fuenlabrada and suffered another crisis that led the doctor to increase the dosage again.
He went to confession at a church
On the morning of August 18, he went to a church seeking confession with the priest. He then bought in a pharmacy an anxiolytic that had been prescribed to him. By around six in the evening, he notified his mother that he would take a walk. He took his mobile phone and documents but did not take his medication with him.
His family, friends, and some people who had traveled from Navarra to help in the search operations, urged urgent action to find him. They had supported him in recent months, offering encouragement that psychological problems take time to improve. But Marcos did not recover.
The autopsy will clarify when and under what circumstances the man who meant a lot to many people died. His loved ones deserve answers to understand the loss.