Missing Woodpecker: Bloodstains, the Family Search, and the Suspect's Movements

The case of the carpenter Sergio Salvador Lobos keeps Mendoza's police and judicial detectives on edge on the eve of the New Year's Eve festivities.

The 63-year-old man left his home in Palmira, San Martín, on Tuesday to buy an accessory for his truck in San Roque, Maipú, and was never seen again.

In the midst of uncertainty about his whereabouts, the white Ford Ranger in which he traveled, and which he used to work, was found in that district of Maipucino in a state of abandonment. What is striking is that he had made some modifications to the vehicle: they removed the stirrups and had painted the rims.

In addition, experts from the Scientific Police detected that the vehicle had some blood stains inside, so samples were taken to make a comparison. These signs set off the alarms of the authorities and caused the investigative work to intensify.

The sights are set on a 37-year-old bricklayer - the identity is reserved because he is not charged or with an arrest warrant -, who had met Lobos a few days ago and acted as an intermediary for the transaction of the anti-roll bar that the man sought to acquire. .

The only suspect who has the cause, has not been able to be located and has not appeared at his home for several hours. Despite this, her partner's statement compromised him, since the woman confirmed that her spouse was circulating aboard Lobos' truck and made striking movements before disappearing.

Beyond all that, a judicial conflict originated in the case and it is still not clear which judicial district was going to take charge of the file.

Although the whereabouts complaint was filed in the San Martín-La Colonia Fiscal Unit, which was in charge of the actions carried out until Thursday morning, the elements suggest that the man disappeared in Maipú, that is, in the jurisdiction of the First Judicial District.

For this reason, from the Homicide Prosecution Unit, which has Gustavo Pirrello on duty, they are attentive, but they considered that it was not yet their turn to intervene, sources consulted maintained.

The truth is that, during a raid carried out by Investigations personnel on Wednesday night at the house of the suspected bricklayer, judicial officials were not present and this caused discomfort in the police authorities in charge of the operation.

In the middle, the Lobos family began a search for the man by their own means and during the morning of this Thursday they were raking the vicinity of Las Margaritas street, where neighbors would have seen him for the last time.

Deep cleaning

After the whereabouts report, the first name that Lobos's relatives provided to the investigators was that of the bricklayer from the Carril Viejo neighborhood, San Roque.

Days ago, the carpenter had been working on a construction site and met him. The worker told him that he knew a guy who was selling a roll bar from a Ford Ranger and the man was interested.

Later, they kept in touch and coordinated to make the purchase. On Monday, Lobos went alone to the seller's house, in the Las Margaritas street area, but did not find him.

For this reason, on Tuesday he agreed to meet the bricklayer, who was going to accompany him to the home of the man who sold the accessory for the truck. It was so that in the afternoon of that day, Lobos left his home and never returned.

When the detectives from the San Martín Departmental Investigative Unit (UID) went to look for the worker, they did not find him at the house on block B of the aforementioned neighborhood. But they had the opportunity to interview his partner.

The woman reported that her spouse had arrived Tuesday night with a white Ford Ranger and assured her that she had bought it. Then he washed the truck, cleaned his clothes and also took a bath, movements that caught the attention of his partner.

After that, he used the vehicle to go to Palmira, since he had to go look for the woman's daughter. The next day, both the truck and the man disappeared.

The Ford Ranger was found Wednesday night about 500 meters from his house, in a state of abandonment, with modifications and blood spatter.

With these tests, the main hypothesis that the investigators handle is that Lobos could have been the target of an act of insecurity. They do not even rule out that they have attempted against his life.