His last words were saturated with fear and distance: We won’t see each other. I’m leaving. You won’t see me again. And then the moment happened. Santiago José, known as Chago, left behind a home phone, keys, documents, and money. He closed the door and disappeared. He is 16 years old, living in Tenerife, and a tireless search has been ongoing since September 6. The family has felt the weight of the missing person case every single day. His sister Luz speaks with quiet sorrow about a search that has lasted more than a month. He is described as a calm, family-oriented boy, and the whole situation feels surreal from start to finish.
“He woke up angry and started shouting at my mother and my sister,” explains the young woman who spoke to Prensa Ibérica’s investigative portal CASO ABIERTO. The narrative retraces Chago’s final steps. The family recalls that they fled toward a mountain. “Chago left the house, and my little brother followed him. They reached the mountain. Chago half-laughs and says, ‘Get out of here, I’ll jump!’ He uttered it, but then he went back. He vanished and was never seen again.”
The police investigation remains open to every possibility. There is a sense that the search may have taken another tragic turn, with some suggesting that he might have ended his life on that mountainside. The family reports a flood of sightings in the Los Gladiolos neighborhood of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, described as “dirty, wearing the clothes he disappeared in.” Luz notes the recurring name of a woman across different tip-offs, leading to a pattern that feels more like noise than clarity.
“Your brother is there,” an insistence that continues to haunt the family. Luz explains, “We reported immediately. If my brother was angry, he would come home an hour later. Chago is a familiar, gentle boy who would never do something like this.” The disappearance protocol was activated promptly. Family members question whether he left home the days before, whether he had been well. “My father passed away five months ago. He and Chago didn’t talk to each other; they had no easy relationship.” Luz adds that Chago carried his pain inward, and it weighed heavily on him. He acknowledged it, even if nobody else did.
The National Police have assumed leadership of the investigation. As progress is made, the family keeps searching, traveling across the mountain and surrounding areas. There is no sign they’ve exhausted every corner, and the search continues with a stubborn resolve.
Posters with clues appeared and faded, leaving behind little more than uncertainty. The only clear thread pointed toward Los Gladiolos and a single woman whose name became a recurring beacon. Luz describes a neighborhood that can feel dangerous and unwelcoming, with residents often reluctant to talk. Some held back, saying they would not provide any information. Yet the family pressed on, driven by a need for answers.
At one point, a statement circulated: a neighbor described a woman who had a knack for accepting people, including children, and who was linked to drugs, commerce, and alcohol. Luz recalls an evening when a person offered a glass of water that left her dizzy and faint. A shabby house near the Zurita bridge was said to shelter children and detained individuals, guarded by a large man at the door. Those details left an imprint, even as memories blur and questions linger.
The family endured nights of careful searching of the neighborhood; days were spent collectively, chasing every lead. After repeated visits, the rest of the community began to shrink the field of clues, and the boy faded from view. The door to the house loomed large in the family’s thoughts, a symbol of what could be hidden behind those walls.
“It wasn’t just a few people,” Luz notes. “Many different tips came from relatives and friends who knew him. They all pointed to possible leads, but no one came forward at the moment a poster appeared.” A cousin reported seeing him and then ran away. Chago, it seems, is not well by the weight of these uncertainties and misdirections.
“Disappeared”
Chago was a simple young person, rarely seen on the street. The family learned that a few months earlier a friend had taken him to live with adults. It appears he left that place and went elsewhere, a departure that felt wrong from the start. The family reflects on what a difference a normal routine could have made. He was not aggressive, yet his behavior became harder to read, and the house now feels empty without him. The shock returns with force, every time Luz thinks about him. The truth stays hidden, yet the family clings to hope that he remains safe somewhere out of sight.
The police maintain that the neighborhood resists a visible police presence. Luz wishes for a deeper, more attentive search—one that truly looks in the places that might hold him. She cannot do this alone and continues to search encampments and streets. If the situation does not reveal itself soon, she fears she may come to believe that the house exists only in fear, not in reality, and that her brother is being held there.
Chago is described as tall, slim, with fairly long hair, and a posture that hints at someone ready to slip away if noticed. He had recently enrolled in a mechanical vocational training course, a plan that excited him; he had just bought the necessary supplies when he vanished. The course began, and he was not there to attend. The living room, the street, the mountain—all hold the echo of his absence. The family yearns for clarity and for him to come home to finish the chapter that life interrupted.