THE CASE of missing Yéremi Vargas who vanished from his Canary Island village 10 years ago has been closed because of 'lack of evidence' to incriminate the number one suspect in his disappearance.
Yéremi, seven, was playing in a strip of wasteland just metres from his home in the town of Vecindario, near San Bartolomé de Tirajana on the island of Gran Canaria, when he was last seen on March 10, 2007.
A white van was spotted near the scene which belonged to a man accused of the attempted sexual abuse of another boy of around the same age.
The van's owner, Antonio Ojeda, reportedly boasted in prison that he 'knew what had happened' to Yéremi.
Ojeda, known as 'El Rubio' – 'The Blond' – remains in prison for another, related offence, but charges against him relating to Yéremi have been dropped.
Judge Juan Manuel Hermo from one of San Bartolomé's courts of first instance says in his verdict that 'at the present moment, no proof exists, nor even circumstantial evidence' which could 'objectively and reasonably' justify the case against Ojeda.
The motives that led to his charges 'are no more than mere subjective affirmations and evaluations by members of the investigating team' which have already been cited 'in identical or similar' cases but which have 'not been confirmed'.
“There is, therefore, no circumstantial evidence of the participation of Antonio Ojeda in the disappearance under investigation, nor in that of any other person,” the verdict concludes.
But the judge has agreed the Guardia Civil can continue its probe until the facts of the case can be ascertained and proven, 'if possible'.
Yéremi's family, who firmly believed they had gained closure after a decade of agony, including years of wondering whether their son was alive or dead, is 'in a state of shock', according to the boy's grandfather José Suárez.
“We know [Ojeda] took Yéremi, because he has given details about the little boy which nobody knew,” Suárez states.
“And for them to turn down our request for a face-to-face meeting and a reconstruction of events has left us feeling quite ill.”
Yéremi's grandfather says the child's family will continue in its quest for Ojeda to be sentenced, even though this has become considerably more difficult since the Guardia Civil's efforts to gather evidence 'have been thrown aside' during the hearing.
Suárez says the family's bad luck contrasts sharply with the 'good fortune' of 'this criminal and murderer' who, although he is still in prison for another offence, will not be charged over Yéremi's disappearance.
“And this is in spite of the fact that one of his cellmates reports that he told him he knew what had happened to my grandson,” Suárez complains.
“It's unbelievable how a person can kill, how a person can freely admit he has killed, and yet the court doesn't even believe it.”
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