Dark athletic trousers, a white tee, and sneakers. Paco grabbed a few pieces of fruit, a yogurt, a small backpack, and walked up to his wife with a plan: “I’m taking a longer route today, so I won’t be back for the food.” He waved goodbye with a smile, and he vanished without a trace.
His name was Paco Cano, 78 years old, and he held an unmatched athletic career. Ten medals at European championships, numerous national wins, and records in events like 800, 1,500, and 3,000 meters. In every race, he triumphed in the Masters category. On August 13, he stepped out for his usual walk to train, and he did not return.
“We have searched for my father for over four months,” his daughter Irina laments. In their hometown of Los Barrios, Cádiz, teachers, neighbors, family, students, and friends keep looking, yet the search feels stuck. Nothing seems to move it forward.
Paco Cano, a pillar of the community and a beloved physical education teacher in retirement, appears in many photographs from his competitive days. He dedicated his life to sport, and many remember his relentless drive. In every arena, he celebrated mastery in his own quiet way. On the morning he vanished, he had a normal routine, buying newspapers and then walking his familiar routes. He set out, greeted familiar faces, and started his usual circuit. Then, as afternoon faded into dusk, he did not come home, without explanation.
Relatives reported his absence to the Civil Guard on Sunday morning. The town’s pulse quickened with the news. Initially there were no media spots or posters; those would come later. One startling detail reached the family: officers told his wife that her husband might be racing in Medina Sidonia, a claim that the family found unlikely.
With other runners in Medina Sidonia
Paco’s wife, Rosa, felt a mix of relief and confusion. She had not warned him, yet she trusted his judgment. Their son confirmed that the Medina Sidonia lead did not align with reality: it was unlikely he had been there. A nearby race in Cadiz or Cadiz region was more plausible, yet nothing matched his presence there. Circuits were checked; Paco was not seen.
The information proved inconsistent. Irina recalls a phone exchange that began to piece together a different afternoon: a family friend found Paco, they chatted briefly, and the intent to walk a route toward Medina was stated.
-Friend: “Where are you going, Pako?”
-Paco: “I’ll make a route to Medina.”
-A: “How will you cover all that distance?”
-Q: (joking) “Want me to come along?”
“He was a joker. Sometimes he even teased he might walk all the way to Tarifa,” Irina remembers.
two witnesses
The search resumed after the family pressed to question the Medina Sidonia lead. The area Paco traversed was combed repeatedly, but nothing solid emerged. Two new witnesses added details: a woman saw him around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday in the downtown area near hiking trails, though she asserted he was already in town. The Vega de Ringo area and the paths near the Los Barrios outskirts were closely scanned, but the river’s edge yielded no clues.
Another statement from the wife added: at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, someone thought they spotted him in the same vicinity, though the family now believes this second sighting could be mistaken. Authorities told the family the search had to proceed with an open mind, leaving every hypothesis on the table. That uncertainty offered little peace to the family.
18 pull-ups
Paco Cano’s image spread across towns: posters sprang up in Algeciras, San Roque, and beyond. People who knew him recall a life spent in service to sport and health. He never stopped moving, even as his body aged with him. He was a beloved physical education teacher in Los Barrios, and his passion for sport defined him. His message was simple: don’t sit idle when life goes wrong. Get up, move, and keep going.
Medals hung around his neck in abundance, a symbol of a lifelong devotion to well-being. He cared about nutrition and what fed the body versus what slowed it. Irina notes how her father taught by example, making a point to test his limits publicly. Rope climbing on birthdays, lifting and pulling—these memories remain vivid, a testament to a man who loved to push his boundaries.
Exercise fueled his life; his retirement briefly paused that engine. A tumor, prostate cancer, interrupted it briefly, but he recovered and regained strength, or so the family believed. Irina remembers the look on teenagers’ faces when she performed 17 or 18 pushups with ease, a sign that the athletic flame still burned bright.
“All Open Hypotheses”
Four months in, answers remained elusive. The case had shifted hands several times: Algeciras Civil Guard, Tarifa, and back to Algeciras. Irina summarizes the feeling: all hypotheses remain open, but that certainty offers little comfort to the family. The notion that Paco may have disappeared on his own never sat well with them. He was fit, but 78 is still older, and August can be unforgiving. The search landscape, seemingly endless, offered no clear direction.
The family insists it is impossible Paco left by choice. Some thoughts veer toward accidents, but the surrounding details do not fit that narrative. If anything, the effort to find him grows more urgent as time passes. The family remains convinced that he would not simply vanish without a trace.
Paco was a PE teacher and devoted his life to sports. He vanished while pursuing his favorite activity: walking and training.
“Perhaps his disappearance involved some forceful action. Someone may have confronted him, and he did not stay quiet.” Irina speculates.
She also considers other possibilities: there are rumors about drug trafficking issues in Campo de Gibraltar, and she wonders if something was witnessed that should not have been seen. The family, neighbors, and supporters continue to fight three questions: how, where, and why. They refuse to let the case fade into oblivion, walking the same path with the same resolve Paco once showed.