His parents have not heard from him since January 24. Natacha de Crombrugghe, a 28-year-old Belgian, mysteriously disappeared while traveling in Peru.
She had traveled alone to this Latin American country to trek in the Andean highlands. On social networks, she occasionally shared photos of her solo journey. Since January 20, 2022, no publication has been published. For the moment, the investigators have collected very few clues about this disappearance. Here is what we know at this stage of the investigation, which is still ongoing.
last seen at an inn
The 28-year-old was reportedly last seen in the village of Cabanaconde. She had spent the night in the Estancia hostel on January 23, 2022. The next day she was to go to the Colca Canyon, a very popular tourist destination. She would have left leaving her bag in her room.
A call for witnesses has been launched in Belgium
To help those mobilized on the spot, the Belgian police launched a call for witnesses, detailing the physical particularities of Natacha de Crombrugghe in order to find her.
“Natacha is 1.65m tall, has a slim build, has long curly brown hair and occasionally wears glasses. She was in possession of a black and turquoise backpack. She could be wearing a black hooded jacket, hiking clothes and sneakers,” Belgian police said.
The Belgian authorities are also looking for all the people who had an interaction with the young woman in the days preceding her disappearance.
Natacha’s family followed her itinerary
As in many disappearance investigations, the mobile phone is a key element. That of the young Belgian could contain valuable clues. The Peruvian police can analyze the conversations she had, the photos she took, but above all they can have access to her location data.
It should be known that the family of Natacha de Crombrugghe could follow the journey of the young woman thanks to an application which could geolocate her. The last time a signal was sent to the family, it placed them in the village of Cabanaconde.
For the moment, the local police forces cannot have access to all these elements, because this mobile phone belongs to a Belgian supplier. Thus, the police must obtain the help of the Belgian authorities to analyze it.
Three Belgian investigators take part in the research
The Peruvian authorities have sent numerous people to investigate the disappearance of Natacha de Crombrugghe. About 80 police and rescuers are searching around Cabanaconde and the route she was supposed to take. They have already searched 80% of the area, according to local media.
Five locals specializing in cochineal collection, and therefore knowing perfectly the most inaccessible places in the canyon, joined the research team.
To reinforce this team, three Belgian investigators traveled to Peru on Sunday February 20, 2022. They are a person from the missing persons cell of the Belgian police as well as two investigators from the federal police.
The criminal trail is not ruled out
In this case of disappearance, all the tracks are still considered. The canyon trails she had to take are particularly notorious for their difficulty. It could therefore be that the young woman got lost or had a bad fall.
If the hope of finding Natacha de Crombrugghe is still present, the Belgian authorities do not want to rule out the criminal trail. For some media, such as Nieuwsblad, this explains why Belgium sent investigators and not rescuers.