The disappearance of 40-year-old Juana Canal was initially treated as a voluntary departure after her partner, Jesús Pradales, left a note for her son, Sergio, on February 24, 2003. The note suggested that Juana had taken pills and left after an argument.
“"I remember darkness. The first impression I have of this house is darkness. I don't know why."
From the beginning, the family suspected that something was wrong. The victim's niece, Inmaculada Castro, and her sister, Ana María, stated that Juana would not have left without taking anything, not her ID or bank cards, contradicting the police hypothesis of voluntary departure.
The night of the disappearance, Inmaculada Castro stayed at her aunt's house with her cousin Sergio. She recalls the scene in the kitchen: “there was like a small cupboard. The drawers were overturned. Everything full of cutlery, knives, forks... all thrown on the floor”.
The truth was uncovered almost two decades later. Juana Canal's remains were found in 2019 on a family property belonging to Jesús Pradales, but the family was not notified until 2022. Pradales was eventually convicted of homicide.
The podcast En Paradero Desconocido, available on major audio platforms, features the voices of the family, the lawyer Juan Manuel Medina, and reconstructs the failed initial investigation and the pain of waiting for 19 years. You can listen to the podcast En Paradero Desconocido.
