Search for missing man on Costa del Sol: 'It is like looking for a needle in a haystack'

Eugenio Cabezas

Nerja

Friday, 4 April 2025, 11:49 | Updated 12:57h.

There has been no trace found, as yet, of Miguel Ramírez Fortes, 'Luis el Reloj', the 66-year-old Nerja resident who disappeared last Saturday in the nearby village of Maro. Around a hundred people, including members of the public, Guardia Civil, Local Police, civil protection services, volunteers, neighbours, family and friends, took part on Thursday afternoon in a search in the Vega de Maro area to try to locate the man, who suffers from dementia, although he does not require medication, according to his family.

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The family of Ramírez Fortes, who worked as a cook for several decades until his retirement, had appealed to the public through social networks to join the effort, which has also been supported by Nerja town hall. In fact, the first deputy mayor, Francisco Arce (PP), has participated in the search, forming part of one of the 15 groups that have been created to explore the many other areas in which the search perimeter has been divided.

The trail of Ramírez Fortes was lost late last Saturday afternoon at the bus stop in Maro, located next to the roundabout that gives access to the small village, which has a population of just 800 inhabitants. He had spent the afternoon with one of his sons in a house in Maro, who explained that he left him at the stop to catch the bus. However, it is not clear that he got on the bus: the driver of the vehicle told the Guardia Civil that he had not see him.

Another witness places him in a taxi heading in the direction of Nerja afterwards. Also in a bar in Maro. And there are witnesses who said they saw him last Sunday near his house in Nerja. All the leads have so far been unsuccessful. Thursday's search took place between 4pm and 8pm.

SUR has accompanied several of the groups that have combed rural roads, lanes, irrigation channels and agricultural estates in the area, between the town of Maro and the eastern part of Nerja town centre, and in the area around the Nerja wastewater treatment plant. There are more than 300 hectares of land, mostly agricultural, but also with steep mountainous areas.

"It's like looking for a needle in a haystack, there are too few of us to cover such a large area," said Antonio Gallardo, one of the participants in the search around Maro beach. The relatives of Ramírez Fortes, including his three children, have also taken part. "They are devastated. Their father has disappeared, it seems that the earth has swallowed him up, poor man," said another of the participants.

The Guardia Civil is in charge of coordinating the search for Miguel Ramírez Fortes, with the help of the Local Police and Civil Protection teams. Sources consulted by SUR have pointed out that it has not yet been decided whether further searches by members of the public will be carried out in the next few days.