Trace of Monica de la Llana Garcia, born in Irún in 1977, is a case that has drawn wide concern from a family living in two states at different tempos. A mother to a 22-year-old son, Monica vanished this summer, on July 21, after a period that left 132 days without clarity. Her relatives are certain this was not a voluntary disappearance. The last known sighting places Monica with an informal partner, who later reported to authorities that he dropped her at a bus stop in a nearby town around 2:00 pm so she could travel to Reus.
Monica had traveled to that city for dinner with a friend who had assured her there would be no meeting again with him. A local Catalan police source confirms that Monica’s sister showed the bus driver a photo of the woman believed to have boarded that day, but the driver did not remember seeing her. The sister suspects foul play and believes someone harmed Monica.
45 year old mother
Monica was the youngest child in a family settled in the United States, a timeline that sees two different currents of time. The family story begins with Monica’s birth and her mother’s presence, followed by her father, a Civil Guard officer who is now retired, and later the extended family who joined them. According to her sister, Monica was an independent woman who faced fragile health and irregular work as a waitress. She often preferred short trips, rarely extending beyond four or five days away from home. Her sister Maria Jesus recalls that initial concerns were tempered by the hope that nothing serious had happened—at least not right away.
Yet Maria Jesus describes Monica as deeply connected to friends and family, needing regular contact and a sense of community, and not able to cope with long periods of solitude. The idea of severing emotional ties entirely never sat well with Maria Jesus, who worried from the start about the sudden disappearance and what it might signify.
The family began to worry a few days after Monica’s mother noted concerning health issues that might require medical attention. WhatsApp activity offered a telltale clue: the feature showing when a contact was last online had been activated, and Monica had not appeared online since July 21, with August approaching. Social media entries on platforms like Facebook and Instagram under the name Modia Vasca showed activity on July 18 and July 14 respectively, underscoring a pattern of recent engagement online while in the area. Investigators would later note Monica’s active presence on social networks prior to her disappearance.
Telephone
Monica had been staying at the home of her informal partner in La Morera de Montsant for several days. Before July 21, she exchanged WhatsApp messages with a friend from Reus with whom she had a lunch meeting that Thursday, and with another friend with whom she planned to visit her house to buy clothes. In one of the audio recordings she sent to a friend, Monica repeatedly stated plans to meet on Thursday for dinner. Yet she never showed up at her friend’s house, nor did she retrieve the clothes, according to both friends. Monica, an intermittent waitress without a fixed contract at any bar, had also accepted a job for the weekend and was immersed in a process to obtain recognition for a partial disability related to ongoing health challenges.
Maria Jesus admits the investigation team could have communicated more openly, noting the process had a reputation for being somewhat closed. The core fact remains: police have yet to observe any trace of Monica’s life since her disappearance. Debit card use, purchases, or routine medical needs were not evident in the immediate aftermath—an alarming sign for her family, who worry about asthma and heart-related issues she faced. Investigators revealed that telephone data placed Monica’s last known location in La Morera de Montsant, with the last call recorded at 7:50 am on July 21, and a three-minute conversation with a person described as her partner. It remains unclear why this call occurred if the partner was with Monica at the time, as the sister notes.
September 13 marked a birthday milestone for Monica, a date that also resonated with the birthday of her son, who has spent most of his life in the care of grandparents. The family has engaged legal counsel and has urged the local court to treat the matter as a private charge, while authorities say the case remains under active review. SOS Disappeared has helped raise public awareness, hoping that information from citizens—especially those in the communities of Montsant and Reus—could help unblock the investigation. Local police have confirmed that Monica’s disappearance is being actively pursued, though authorities caution that sharing specific details could hinder the process. The case has become a focal point for community outreach, with the family relying on public involvement to keep Monica’s story alive until answers emerge.