Isabel del Castillo Hortelano, 57, lives with Alzheimer’s. Her image fills streets across Madrid and circulates widely on social media. A large network of people is involved in the search, though she remains unaware of it. She may not remember her address, moves slowly, and feels confusion and disorientation. The disappearance lasted eleven days and grew more alarming as time passed since she is vulnerable and needs daily medication she cannot obtain on her own.
The family and investigators pressed for maximum visibility to help locate her. The situation is exceptionally risky and troubling because Isabel is defenseless. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s two years ago and requires care and medicine, which makes the search more urgent.
“She left home in Navalcarnero, Madrid, around 8:00 PM on Friday, August 19,” says her daughter, Yoanna. “I had just returned from a trip to Greece that had taken the family abroad for a month and a half.” The trip might have unsettled Isabel, and she left while her husband was in the bathroom. He stepped outside and didn’t see her again.
An image provided by the family shows the bag she carried on the day she vanished.
Yoanna explains that Isabel was born in Madrid but spent many years in Móstoles before moving with her grandparents to Navalcarnero in 2002. Before the illness, Isabel and her husband ran several restaurants. The family has dedicated their lives to hospitality. Her father, who is Greek, operated Greek cuisine restaurants in Madrid.
The first restaurant opened in 1997. The couple used to travel by bus 528 from Navalcarnero to Madrid, often reaching Príncipe Pío. Navalcarnero, Móstoles, and central Madrid may be familiar places for someone who moves by habit and routine. Observers note that people with Alzheimer’s tend to revisit places tied to strong memories, often returning to where they disappeared because old routines feel more real than current ones.
End point: the town square
From the start, the family stayed vigilant. Surveillance cameras at several locations helped trace part of Isabel’s path after she left home. The first recording shows a stretch near the house, about 30 meters away, on a broad street as she exits the Municipal Park roundabout in Navalcarnero, where multiple bus stops direct traffic in different directions. It seems she walked toward Plaza de Segovia, then moved again toward the same roundabout at a later moment.
The second recording, captured around 8:30 PM, shows her leaving again and trying to reconnect with the address she initially knew, tracing the same street back toward the same roundabout.
“She managed to board a bus, though it seems unlikely for her to travel to other towns. It could be a mistake,” notes Yoanna.
The family asks all facilities with security cameras to review their footage or share it with the Civil Guard. The key to finding Isabel may lie in those images. The search spans many neighborhoods in Madrid and nearby towns, following leads that shift as new details emerge.
Recognizing and remembering names
Yoanna notes that Isabel, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s two years earlier, has not engaged in typical tasks that require responsibility, though the decline is not severe. The family highlights small acts, like making a phone call, as meaningful indicators of orientation. Medication was used to slow progression, but she did not have it on the day she disappeared. She did not carry a phone and was always accompanied when outside.
Despite the illness, Isabel has not lost her sense of self. She knew people, at least up to the day she vanished. In Greece, she could recognize familiar faces, a sign that memory may retain older relationships even as spatial and temporal orientation fades. The ability to recall names remained, something that can help others identify her if she is encountered.
She responds when her name is spoken. If someone believes they have seen her, they are urged to contact authorities to verify and assist in reuniting her with family. A simple recognition could be the turning point in locating her safely.
“A typical gesture is biting her lower lip,”
Isabel is described as having a normal build, standing about 1.65 meters tall, with brown eyes and medium-length light-brown hair with gray streaks. She walks at a steady pace but may appear strong yet tired or confused. A telltale gesture is biting the lower lip, sometimes held with one elbow pressed against the body while the lips are pressed between fingers.
Before the illness, she spoke fluent Greek. Alzheimer’s can blur expressions, making conversations seem disjointed to outsiders. Some words may fail to surface, leading her to search for them. She was open, friendly, and increasingly reserved in recent times, often engaging with strangers and sharing opinions more readily than before.
At the time she disappeared, she wore black cycling shorts, a striped tee with a playful cartoon print, a light brown bag, and blue flip-flops. The family continues to share details to help identify their loved one, hoping for a breakthrough. They plead for anyone who boarded a bus toward Navalcarnero during that period to come forward, or anyone who saw her on the street to report information to the Civil Guard or local authorities.
In another image provided by the family, Isabel’s hair appears longer now, a small detail that could aid recognition in crowd footage.
The family keeps pushing forward, explaining that a taxi might have helped on the night of disappearance, though Navalcarnero is not typically served by taxis at that hour. They remain undeterred; they continue posting calls, checking networks, and staying near the phone. Some leads point to Móstoles, but efforts to piece together a full timeline are ongoing. The search continues with unwavering determination.