Córdoba: six months after his disappearance, a new search to find Lian

The search for Lian Gael Flores Soraide, the boy last seen in Córdoba on February 22, had a new chapter this Thursday with renewed search efforts.

On the eve of a symbolic day due to the disappearance, searches were conducted at a brick kiln in Ballesteros Sud.

With tracking dogs and no new leads in the investigation, the search operations took place in an area near where the three-year-old boy lived with his family.

Last month, attorney Darío Baggini, representative of Lian's parents, stated that the case was "stalled" and that there were no hypotheses regarding the boy's whereabouts.

The investigation is being led by a judicial team made up of provincial prosecutors Isabel Reyna and Nicolás Gambini; federal prosecutors from Bell Ville, María Virginia Miguel Carmona; and the federal prosecutors in charge of the Office for Trafficking and Exploitation of Persons, María Alejandra Mángano and Marcelo Colombo.

Timeline of Lian's Case

Lian was 3 years old when he disappeared on Saturday, February 22, 2025, around 3:00 p.m. in the rural town of Ballesteros Sud, Unión Department, Córdoba Province.

The boy was barefoot, jerseyless, and wearing blue shorts, and was last seen while playing in the yard of his home, where he lived with his family, who woke up after a nap and noticed his absence.

The Sofía Alert, a national system for locating missing children, was quickly activated.

A search operation was deployed in a challenging area: brick kilns, crop fields, ovens, wells, and grasslands—which complicated the search efforts.

More than 120 agents from various Córdoba forces, firefighters, local trackers, tracking dogs, drones, and helicopters participated.

Hypotheses and Clues Regarding Lian's Disappearance in Córdoba

The possibility that Lian got lost was investigated, although from the beginning it was considered that it could have been an abduction.

A key lead was the sighting of a white pickup truck with tinted windows driving around the area on the day of the disappearance.

Witnesses such as "Raúl" and "Maricel" gave statements that led to a search of a nearby home, where a similar vehicle and cell phones were seized.

A healer known as "the grandmother" was also investigated, seen boarding a bus to Jujuy that same afternoon, although no conclusive evidence was found.

Judicial Proceedings and Lian's Family

The family expressed deep suffering: the father, Elías Flores, shared his pain and frustration, saying: "We regret having gone to sleep for a nap", and stated that "we are convinced that he is alive."

The family's original attorney resigned shortly after, citing differences with the prosecution; attorney Baggini then took over.

To date, there are no confirmed suspects or concrete findings that would allow progress toward resolving the case, which keeps the community's shock and the family's pain alive.