At the same time that a body was found floating five miles from the coast, in Claromecó, the family of
Federico Saihueque Cuevas
celebrated a mass in the Nuestra Señora del Carmen church, in Tres Arroyos, to ask for the appearance of the young man who disappeared ten days ago. at sea.
Both events, mass and discovery, occurred almost simultaneously.
This Thursday,
it was confirmed that the body belonged to the boy.
The discovery of a body floating in the sea was made by a group of fishermen who were sailing in a straight line to the Claromecó lighthouse.
They notified the Naval Prefecture, which
days before had found the kayak
with which the boy had entered the sea, rescued the body and transferred it to the morgue of the Pirovano Hospital, in Tres Arroyos.
On this Thursday afternoon, after 6 p.m., they performed the autopsy: sources from the Municipality of Tres Arroyos confirmed to
Clarín
that it was Saihueque.
"He is wearing black shorts," said a source dedicated to the search, "similar to the one the boy was wearing when he was last seen," the day he rented a kayak at the Puerto Mosquito dock, in the Claromecó stream.
It was Sunday, January 21, he was alone and went out with a life jacket on.
Hugo Cortés, the place's concessionaire for just over two decades, rents kayaks and canoes, but in no case does he allow them to be used to go into the sea.
But Saihueque ignored the prohibition and
rowed towards the mouth,
as the security cameras later confirmed.
"At no time did he go to the waterfall area of the stream, he went straight to the sea," the merchant had told this newspaper.
Before the disappearance, the first report that was made was for theft: the dealer believed that the young man to whom he had rented a kayak at 5 in the afternoon, being 8, had stolen it.
"I had to return an hour later, as has already happened to me, I went to the police station," he explained.
It was later learned that the boy had disappeared at sea.
Federico, who was
25 years old,
worked in a courier service in Tres Arroyos in the morning and, in the afternoon, as an entrepreneur, he offered hairdressing and barbering services.
"A very good boy, healthy, hard-working," a relative recalled him
.
Two days after the disappearance, a coast guard from the Naval Prefecture found an orange kayak with both ends painted black, floating 19 miles from the coast.
The dealership later confirmed that it was the one he had rented from Saihueque.
On Tuesday, the Saihueque Cuevas family had reported that they would celebrate a mass "so that we all pray for him to appear, but more than anything so that his spirit and soul are at peace."
It was in the Nuestra Señora del Carmen church, almost simultaneously with the discovery of the body: "We want you to accompany us in this moment of great sadness and uncertainty, because we always trust that God listens and guides us whatever the time and place."
"We appreciate the good energy received from everyone and willingness to help with the search, even if it means sharing his photo so we can find him soon," said the relatives.
His remains will be buried this Friday morning in the local cemetery.
S.C.