Maitena Luz Rojas Garófaloa 14-year-old teenager from Merlo, was found dead on Thursday afternoon in the Buenos Aires town of Las Heras after an intense search by the authorities and those close to him.
The minor was last seen on Wednesday morning when she was going to enter the schoolbut he left and never entered. A day and a half later, his body was found in a wasteland without signs of violence, as confirmed by official sources THE NATION.
Maitena studied at the Secondary Education School No. 16located in the center of the town of Merloprovince of Buenos Aires. He went to school every morning with his 17-year-old sister.
It belonged to Sacred Heart of Jesus scout groupfrom the Merlo unit. According to his Instagram profile, he described himself as a person who loved rain and winter. She was also a fan of the American singer Chappell Roan, creator of hits like “Good Luck, Babe” and “Pink Pony Club.”
In one of the videos that the group uploaded to social networks, Maitena can be seen a week ago while participating in a challenge that consisted of hugging an educator who helped her believe in herself.
Maitena’s family He did not find out about her disappearance until that Wednesday at noonwhen her mother went to pick her up from school and was notified that she never entered. And when the minor arrived with her sister at the door of the institution, she said she was going to greet a friend and left.
When the search began, the authorities discovered a first security camera that showed the teenager on Bicentenario and Perú streets; I walked alone.
The second recording was located at 9 at the Kilometer 34.5 station on the Sarmiento line. The young woman got on the train at 9:15 and got off at Las Heras around 10.
After the police report was made, officers approached his house and found nine letters written by her where he said goodbye to his friends and family. He also left a video.
“Maitena had everything planned. He left letters, his cell phone and his password, scheduled emails for his family. so that they receive them on a certain date,” said Noelia, a friend of the family, in dialogue with LN+.
The first versions, released by the woman, indicated that the minor had had conversations for a long period of time with two unknown people, whose cell phones were from Paraguay, who instigated her to commit suicide. However, sources close to the investigation denied the versions to THE NATION and indicated that there was no contact with foreigners or conversations of this nature that led to his death.
In Merlo, family and friends of the young woman called for a march and put up posters to find her whereabouts throughout the town. During the afternoon, they repeatedly asked for the teenager’s appearance and sang “look for Maitena.”
Once the news of his death became known, several of them stayed in the area. Dozens of teenagers, group mates scout to which Maitena belonged, They sat on the floor, held hands and sang together.. The young people gathered around a flag that read: “We are looking for Maitena!!”.
This Friday, around 10:30, family, friends and school officials They gathered in front of that building and released white balloons to remember the teenager after a minute of silence.
Matías, a fellow scout of the young woman, told what Maitena was like in the group to which she belonged. “She was very sociable. He was always encouraged to appear in the videos we uploaded on social networks. It was a love of person“, he pointed out in dialogue with LN+.
He explained that he last saw her last Saturday, at one of the scout meetings. “We saw her in activity. She was very well. That’s why the news shocked me quite a bit,” he said. And he added in dialogue with TV Chronicle: “She was always active. She was the one who was always encouraged to go to camps, to do activities. He loved challenges, dancing, singing. He had a positive attitude. Always very loving.”
