Featured Image Credit: amysolanog/Instagram
Topics: World News, TikTok
Britt Jones
A man who was 'missing' for two years was finally found after inadvertently appearing on a TikTok video.
41-year-old Diego Londoño, a philosopher and musician, was being searched for by his worried family after he went off the radar in Peru.
However, after looking for him for two years, an influencer caught wind of his whereabouts and decided to help out.
Amy Solano, an Ecuadorian businesswoman, decided to travel to Chiclayo in search of Diego, and she very quickly set her eyes on the right place to look.
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Solano had chosen to travel to Chiclayo after reporters mentioned they had spotted him in the nearby city of Màncora.
Even though the first day of her search turned up with nothing, she managed to capture him on camera on September 25 and posted it to TikTok while she spoke of the search for him.
Thanks to Solano, Londoño was located and taken in by the authorities, where they put him in the custody of the Peruvian National Police (PNP).
After he was found, his family were finally given the good news that he was well and they had him.
According to VT, Londoño now plans to travel from Chiclayo to Lima, in Peru.
Then, he will reunite with his family in Colombia.
However, local reports have stated he may not want to go back for some time as he is a voluntary nomad.
The National Police allegedly told RPP that the man has no plans to leave to see his family and does not want to return to Colombia.
"He himself said that he does not want to return to his country," they said as per the outlet.
The National Police of Peru also said he was not in danger or in a state of abandonment.
A police station shared that he had been taken in for one night and a day, where he received support with food, clothing and the option of communicating with his relatives.
The outlet stated he had managed to communicate by phone with his sisters, Olga, Martha and Lucía, who indicated they will respect his decision not to return to Colombia at this time.
As per the authorities, they said: "There is no complaint of disappearance. He spoke with his sisters and made it clear that he does not want to return to Colombia.”
They allegedly added that he refused to undertake a psychological evaluation, but they believe he did not present with symptoms of any health problems during his time at the station.
"He is a polyglot man who moves through different cities of the country, subsisting on the sale of handicrafts in bronze and copper," the officers, according to translations.
Now that he plans to fly to Lima, they said that they recommended he approach police stations every now and then to communicate with his family to avoid false alarms of panic or fears that he is missing.
Éxito Noticias talked with Londoño in the national territory, where he laid out his next plans.
"It's difficult for me to explain that I'm not like other people, but my family is there. [...] From here to Lima and from there back to Colombia. I need to work a little, I almost never have plans," he said.