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Diari de Catalunya

An Empordà enigma reactivated thirty years later from Ecuador

The discovery of a backpack in Biure, containing personal items of an Ecuadorian traveler, sparks an international search for his family.

A weathered, old backpack in an abandoned mill, illuminated by sunlight.
IA

A weathered, old backpack in an abandoned mill, illuminated by sunlight.

The discovery of a backpack containing personal items of an Ecuadorian traveler in an old mill in Biure, Empordà, has reactivated an international search for his family, thirty years later.

The story of an Ecuadorian citizen who traveled to Europe in 1996 to discover his roots and passed through Empordà, continues to generate questions three decades later. His travel backpack was located just over three years ago by members of the hiking association Gas Mountain inside an old mill in Biure, where it had remained hidden for decades.
This discovery initiated an unexpected investigation into a journey, an identity, and a disappearance full of unanswered questions. Among the first interested parties was a retired engineer from Figueres, who decided to investigate the case after seeing the finding published on the association's social media.
Inside the backpack were documents, notes, and clues about a foreign man who had been in the area in the mid-nineties. Despite the passage of time and humidity, the contents were intact and revealed the owner's identity, an Ecuadorian man aged 36 who, on October 18, 1996, had left a handwritten message stating that he had come to seek his roots in Spain and would return to collect his backpack. After that, there was no further trace.
The initial investigation was meticulous, including reviewing old press articles, sending letters abroad, consulting consulates, and numerous calls and emails. Slowly, some pieces of the puzzle began to fit. The man had arrived in Europe from South America, passing through Paris, where he enrolled in a French course in Saint-Malo. He then visited Buddhist centers near the French capital and in the Nice area. Finally, he hitchhiked across France until he reached Catalonia. A map found among his belongings showed destinations marked by hand such as Barcelona and Sant Cugat, before his trail went cold.
The backpack was abandoned in the mill, and its owner never returned for it. Years later, his country's consulate confirmed that the man had died fifteen years after the events. However, the information stopped there, with no contact with relatives or official possibility of returning the personal items. The goal was to get his belongings to his family and close the story, but letters sent to possible relatives in various countries received no response.
Three decades after the journey, the backpack has once again sparked interest. A new publication on Salines Bassegoda's social media has reactivated collective memory. Thanks to this, a woman originally from Terrades, who currently resides in Ecuador and is a university professor and archaeologist, has begun to collaborate in an attempt to trace the traveler's family.
This case, which began as a local curiosity, could become an international investigation into identity, migration, and personal memory. The backpack, still in its place, remains a testament to an unfinished journey.

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