There are no photographs that confirm her current appearance. Unknown. She may wear colored lenses, glasses, be blonde or brunette, have long hair or none at all. It is unclear where she moves or where she was last seen. All alerts have been active for three months. There is no progress, and the security team cannot locate her, nor have they contacted the family, her mother Inés laments.
Her name is Lorena Rafael Cintas. She is 28 years old and was discharged from the Arévalo psychiatric hospital in Avila. She entered by court order two and a half months ago. “I warned you, my daughter is not what she seems”, her mother says. “She has multiple illnesses, she possesses a powerful ability to manipulate, and her condition gives her absolute self-control”, she explains, speaking with CASO ABIERTO, an investigative portal. “This mix makes her dangerous.” Her escape creates risk for others. “The truth is, my daughter can do a lot of harm; she is ill, yet somehow alive, and she has caused hundreds of hospitalizations. She also has a long record of crimes. She was placed in a psychiatric facility because she could not be controlled.” Do not let her out of confinement.”
300 intensive care unit admissions
“Lorena has Factitious Disorder, formerly known as Munchausen syndrome, among other labels”, Inés begins. The family fought for years to obtain a proper diagnosis. “We realized years ago that something was occurring while the doctors did not see it.” During adolescence, hospital admissions, feigned symptoms, and a flood of illness diminished. The pattern involved feigning or provoking illness to seek hospital care.
“Lorena has 300 admissions to intensive care with intubation. Typically it reaches four hundred. Imagine the exposure she endured in successive ICUs”, Inés sums up. The disorder also affects those around her. “In Lorena’s case, she not only becomes ill, but does so vicariously. This is a variant of a lifelong condition. Everything started when a vulnerable partner encouraged self-harm or injury, leading to a night in hospital.” Lorena has four children. “It was terrible… We managed it. Custody should be reconsidered.” They were victims, and they are in good condition today.
50 complaints of ill-treatment
Lying is their main weapon. Her mother says manipulation is central. “It hurts to learn this about your daughter, and facing it has been difficult all these years”, she laments. Lorena is portrayed by some as the victim of her illness, yet the reality is more complex.
To others, she appears nearly flawless. “Fifteen days after she entered the Arévalo center in Avila, the social worker noted there was no other patient who behaved the way she did. She was so charming.” He interrupted. “Deception is her greatest talent. It has always worked this way. She can be the gentlest, most lovable person, but my daughter is not here because she cannot be trusted; she is very ill and has crimes that could land her in prison.”
Fraud, threats, and extortion are part of the pattern, in addition to what comes with victimization, according to Inés. “My daughter has filed 50 gender-based violence complaints in three years, at most five years. Is any of this true? Most of these men are in prison.”
Despite warnings, Lorena’s good behavior earned her privileges, such as a walk in the center of Ávila. “On the second time she went out, she ran away.” At 21:00 on October 26, a call came in: “Do you know anything about your daughter? She did not return to the center. I warned them… They said the same thing happened in Arévalo.” Almost five hours had passed since the escape began. The family still did not know her whereabouts.
Operation
“Lorena was rendered incapacitated by court order in the third week of July.” The process moved swiftly since she had escaped from Castellón General Hospital a month earlier. “She was admitted, underwent tracheotomy surgery, and ran away. That rapid incapacity accelerated the process”, her mother admits.
Among other things, the disorder causes her to feign illness or pretend to be sick to access hospital care. Lorena reportedly was hospitalized 400 times, 300 of which were in intensive care.
When staff checked vital signs, Lorena had already left. “It reappeared 48 hours later because she needed medical attention, creating a gap in care.” A vocal cord surgery was performed due to intubation, and protocols were reportedly not followed after the hospitalization. “Despite the psychiatrist’s instructions, my daughter, already in a psychiatric center, was treated under the standard protocol, without proper supervision.”
At the hospital, a visitor later helped her leave by disguising her, but the plan faltered when she needed clothes to depart. The search was activated slowly due to a procedural flaw. Lorena left the bed, walked into the street, obtained money with her ID after visiting a police station, and bought a phone with the clothing. Inés explains.
The artist also visited a hairdresser to alter her appearance, underwent keratin treatment, and had nails done. She reportedly checked into Valencia Hospital with a fever and a tracheostomy wound, then was returned to Castellón after the alert sounded. A judge ordered complete incapacitation and a closed regime. Her mother notes this placed her in a center with no access to money, no exits, and no communication. The only fixed location was Arévalo, the center where she disappeared.
Bizums from the center
The young woman needed a month and a half to fool staff at the Ávila center. “I recall they called me and asked for a tablet. I was upset, and I removed her from the facility.” “I assumed it was for a specific purpose and would involve parental controls or something like that. When I delivered it, they said they would only block the camera because taking photographs was prohibited in the center.”
“He sends me a photo of the sneakers from the center and says, ‘Mom, buy them and bring them next month when I return.’ He made a bizum and disappeared the same afternoon.”
Inés grew fearful. “Does my daughter have social networks? It seems cruel to think she could manipulate the outside world from the inside because we have already seen this pattern.” “You never know what my daughter might do with social networks.” The warnings continued. “If my daughter calls me, she could talk to anyone. This is dangerous.”
Lorena began using bizums as well. “She made them for me, who else?” Inés warned again. “The day she disappeared, she sent a screenshot of her sneakers and said: ‘Mom, buy them in my size and bring them next month.’ She sent money via bizum and vanished that same afternoon.”
Not alone
The investigation continues. Civil Guard SOS Desaparecidos has supported the family from the start. Some comments have suggested Lorena may have left with a man or a child from the Castellón hospital. There are reports that she remained in contact with someone while abroad, transferring large sums of money through bizum. The figure could reach as high as 6,000 euros, according to some sources.
With physical description not confirmed, one crucial detail is a distinctive voice with pronounced hoarseness. Tracheostomy scarring remains on her neck. “This is not a joke; my daughter is dangerous and may be in real danger.”