Families in Aguilar de Campoo, Palencia, continue to seek answers about Virginia Guerrero and Manuela Torres, two young girls who vanished in 1992. After decades with no resolution, the families pressed the investigation file anew, prompting discussions about the path the case has taken through the judicial system and the role of constitutional protection in missing persons cases.
Following a decision by the Palencia State Court to uphold a prior ruling from the Cervera de Pisuerga court, which authorized continuing the inquiry against Guerrero and Torres, the families’ legal representative, Amparo, appealed to the Constitutional Court. The aim was to determine whether fundamental rights were violated by the Provincial Court’s handling of the case and its decision to close the inquiry without a finding of responsibility.
In comments to EFE, Ramón Chippirrás, spokesperson for the families, explained that the appeal seeks to ensure that the rights to an effective judicial process are respected as the case moves through higher courts. The goal is to clarify what happened to the two teenagers and to secure a thorough and transparent examination of all available lines of inquiry.
Speaking with EFE, lawyer Carmen Balfagón expressed the belief that fundamental rights may have been breached, including the right to a robust and effective judicial process. She noted concerns about the gaps in Spain’s handling of missing minors and highlighted the need to address long-standing legal gaps that affect such cases.
The lawyers argue that the constitutional route could provide the necessary framework to shield missing persons cases from repeated procedural dead ends and to ensure that investigations can adapt as new information emerges. They stress that there are more than 5,000 active complaints involving missing minors in the country, underscoring a systemic challenge that requires clearer constitutional protections and consistent investigative standards.
Specifically, the appeal contends that the Constitutional Court has not yet ruled on missing persons and that the justice system should persist in pursuing all viable avenues until every case is resolved. In the case of Manuela and Virginia, the appeal rests on reopening the investigation in 2021 after a new line of inquiry had been pursued, and the assertion that none of the family-represented cases were properly addressed, leading to what the lawyers describe as avoidable mistakes in the provincial court’s verdicts.
Examples cited include the Fonttoria mine inquiry, a magnesite mine in Cantabria where investigators revisited calls received by the Civil Guard in 1992, and Cervatos Cave near Reinosa, seen as a plausible site for evidence. The appeal argues that the investigation should have leveraged current methods and resources to search for any biological remains related to the girls, rather than allowing those avenues to lapse after their disappearance in 1992.
Additionally, the families note that taking the case to the Constitutional Court could open the door to involvement by international bodies if necessary. Spain’s commitments under United Nations frameworks and other treaties on missing persons are cited as part of a broader obligation to pursue investigations when domestic avenues fall short.
The families’ lawyers emphasize that Virginia and Manuela’s relatives will persist in pursuing all legal options to obtain truth and closure. They indicate no intention to abandon the case but rather to exhaust every available legal route until the circumstances are clarified and justice is served for the two girls.
Carmen Balfagón stated that the pursuit would continue. If no domestic remedy proves satisfactory, the case will be taken to Strasbourg, reflecting the determination to seek a just outcome through all appropriate channels.
Manuela Guerrero and Virginia Torres vanished on April 24, 1992, after deciding to hitchhike from Reinosa to Aguilar de Campoo in Palencia, where they had been spending the afternoon. The last reports place them in Reinosa, where they visited a disco and a park and were later seen hitchhiking in a white or cream Seat 127.
New life was breathed into the case after a television program aired a witness testimony in May 2021. About a year later, the court issued a temporary suspension of proceedings, stating there was no identified author in the events, pending further evidence. The families’ lawyers challenged the dismissal, and the court ultimately closed the file in September, a decision the families continue to contest. They insist that every available path should be explored until the truth about the girls is uncovered.