MUSHROOM PICKERS MAKE A STRANGE DISCOVERY INSIDE THE WOODS 2 DECADES AFTER SPANISH DOCTOR GOES ASTRAY

 

Let’s just suppose that a person is very dear to you because you’ve seen him/her grow and you know them better than anyone else will ever know. A person you like to see when you return home, a person you pray for every time you pray. A person you call your family. What if that one person is your favorite and he/she goes away?Leaving questions unanswered and love unrequited. You don’t know if he/she did it on purpose or if he/she is in trouble waiting for you to help.

That’s the helplessness that the Salazar family faced throughout their life. And this is the story of one of their family members.

Day Dreaming

Just like any ordinary mother, Amelia too lived for her family. Her kids were the best thing that ever happened to her but her life wasn’t going to be like the regular mothers. She was proud of the fact that her kids were obedient and smart enough to understand her situation every time. They never blamed her for anything and did their best in studies as well as other extra activities. Her kids have always been among the brightest of students. However, one of her kids’ life was going to be everything but ordinary. 

While Growing Up

During all those years, when Amelia saw her kids grow, not even for a moment she seemed low. Yes, she had her times when she felt exhausted but in front of her kids, she was always cheerful. She was just making sure that her kids never live the kind of childhood she lived. Thanks to her dedication and hard work, she brought them up real nice.

An Introvert

Ever since his childhood, Carlos, Amelia’s eldest son wasn’t into talking. He just said what was necessary and that’s all. He always chose books over conversations and indoor games over friends. A quiet and sincere boy who never shared his thought with anyone but his mother. His behavior was unacceptable to his teachers.

Complaints

In every parent-teacher meet, Carlos’ teachers were always happy with his studies but they all had just one complaint. He never took part in group discussions, nor he had any friends other than his little sister, Olga. Carlos’ mother, on the other hand, seemed to have no issues with her boy’s less talkative nature. 

Letting The Boy Free

The Salazar family believed in just one statement: “live and let live.” Instead of asking Carlos to socialize more, Amelia allowed him to take his own time and space to get used to life and the people in it. She gave him as much time as he needed but the boy never opened up to anyone. Still, it didn’t bother his mother much, as long as Carlos was studious and sincere, she knew he was on the right path.

Moving Out

Carlos made an early decision that he’ll be moving out and start living on his own right from the first day of his college. He was saving for it from an early age when he earned his first pay from a part-time job during his high school. This never meant that he’ll be leaving his mother behind, he always made sure of keeping a part of his pay for his mother.

A Successful Career

While her daughter made it to college, her son, Carlos Sanchez Ortiz de Salazar completed his degree in psychology and started his practice in a reputed hospital of Seville, Spain. Carlos was a decent guy with a generous heart, who loved to always cared for people around him. That was the reason why he chose to study psychology in the first place. Little did Carlos, his family, and friends know that this interest in the human mind will take him on an unexpected track. 

Best In His Field

Carlos had a quality of being best at whatever he did, be it any sport or be it his profession. It was obvious that he was a scholar student and to add to his bright future, Carlos decided to study more. All he wanted was to become successful and with his topnotch grades, he was already halfway there. 

Urge For More

Carlos’ urge to learn more took him towards physiotherapy. He not only got the license of a physician but also had a sort of passion for it. He was so incredibly good at being a physician that local patients started to think of him as an expert in the field of physiotherapy. No wonder he was making his mother, Amelia proud. 

More Than Espanol

Born and brought up in Spain, Carlos was fluent in Spanish as well as English. However, he was fluent in many other languages too. He developed this love for foreign languages during his school days. Soon learning other languages became more of a hobby to him. Unfortunately, all these hobbies, learnings, success, and stuff were all about to go in vain.

Strange Perspective

Although Carlos looked like an ordinary person, some parts of his personality were strange. While growing up his introvert behavior only increased with time. It increased to an extent where he stopped visiting his family even on Christmas eves. It started worrying his mother as well as his siblings.

Unlimited Prospects

For young people like Carlos who have so much knowledge and experience, there were enormous opportunities in the market. During the short time of his career, Carlos received several offers from MNCs that he declined only because his mother wanted him to be in the same country and not too far from all.

Habit Of Working Over Time

While everyone waited for their working hours to get over, Carlos preferred to work overtime daily. Neither was he getting paid less nor did he need more money. But it seemed like a good way to keep himself occupied. After all, he didn’t feel like meeting people after office hours nor had many places to visit.

The Year 1995

In the year 1995, Carlos was 26 years old, when something happened. Nobody knew what it was but the result of it was Carlos’ disappearance. He spent a usual day in the clinic and completed his overtime hours. That day, the physiotherapist looked more exhausted than ever.

Last Conversation

At the time of leaving office, he wished the receptionist Goodnight who in returned wished him a happy weekend with her usual smile. Also, before the 26-year-old could take off, she suggested him to take good rest. Little did she know, this will be their last conversation.

Late Night Call

That night, Carlos’ mother called on his home number but as always, he didn’t reply. She wanted to invite him for a family dinner the next night but it was obvious for Carlos to not pick calls. So, his mother assumed it was a no from him. What she didn’t know was that her son was in the biggest trouble of his life.

Not Showing Up

No one thought of the young man until the next Monday morning when he didn’t show up for the office at the time. Reaching late to office, that wasn’t Carlos. In the last couple of years of working in the clinic, Carlos had never been late. What came as a surprise to everyone was the fact that he didn’t even inform his boss about his disappearance.

Disappeared

Just to check on him, the receptionist called his number but there was no response. She didn’t know what was wrong and there was just one emergency number she had on records. The receptionist dialed Carlos’ mother, Amelia’s number who knew nothing about her son’s whereabouts.

Utter Shock

Amelia knew Carlos very well. She was well aware of her son’s habit. Work was his top priority and he would never give up on it for anyone at any cost. She immediately recalled that he didn’t answer her calls too on last Friday night and grew furious. She rushed to his home to check on him.

Nowhere To Be Found

Amelia had keys to Carlos’ flat but to worry her more, she noticed that the door was left ajar. As she took steps forward in fear, she saw everything inside was a big mess. It seemed like the room wasn’t cleaned from months. Out of nervousness, she reached out for Carlos’ telephone and called 092; the police helpline number in Spain.

Cops On The Spot

The cops reached at Carlos’ flat within 15 minutes and started their investigation. All that mess inside his flat wasn’t the sign of an intruder but the sign that Carlos wasn’t doing anything around. Seemed like the man was going through a phase where he didn’t feel like doing anything at all. But what more they found on the spot brought out a horrible reality.

Never Made It To Home

According to the cops, that Friday night, Carlos did leave from the clinic but never reached home. Also, they made a disturbing discovery in his flat that Amelia was completely unaware of. Amelia kept on saying that her son never had a fight with anyone. She said he was an innocent lad and all she wanted was to see her son.

Hidden Struggle

Everyone saw Carlos’ weird behavior as his introvert nature. Let’s just clear it right here, that introverts never feel sad about being alone. In fact, they find solace in loneliness. Less human contact means their type of joy. But Carlos was struggling while staying alone. And no one was aware of the war that he had been fighting within himself. 

Anti-Depressants

Cops find out countless packs of a specific sort of pills that were about to change the direction of this case. Carlos was on Anti-depressants and a lot of them. He was taking these pills several times a day. It seemed that he was facing insomnia too. These pills were prescribed to him and it was clear on seeing a report they found underneath all the trash in his flat.

Depression

Looking at Carlos’ life anyone would have imagined that he was living a perfect life. His patients used to thank him for his politeness and compliment that he was gifted. He used to accept all these compliments with a silent smile. And never let anyone know that he himself was suffering from acute depression.

Mother’s Regret

When Amelia got to know about her son’s suffering, she couldn’t believe that she never noticed the pain her son has been hiding behind that smile. She was blaming herself for all that Carlos was going through but regret wasn’t going to bring him back. The cops kept the search on from their end and Carlos’ friends and family too never lost hope of his return but did he?

Years Passed

The search kept going but the years kept passing and with every passing year, the hopes of his return also kept diminishing. More than 14 years passed but cops were unable to find even a clue in this case of disappearance. They were not even sure if he was abducted or something else happened to him.

Presumed Dead

So, 14 years passed and the authorities had to announced that Carlos was “presumed dead.” That was the day when his family too stopped looking for him but they never stopped thinking about him. And Carlos’ mother still used to look for him in the streets, sharing his photos with strangers.

Five Years Later

Five years after Carlos was presumed dead, there was an unbelievable call that was about to bring this case back on the front desk. The call was from the Mediterranean, a place where no one even thought of looking. What was this all about?

Maremma Region, Italy

In the center of Italy, lies a coastal area, the Maremma region. Filled with greenery and wilderness, many nearby people find raw products in the woods instead of buying them from the market. It all started when one day a group of hikers went to search the area.

In Search Of Mushrooms

During November of 2015, a group of local hikers went inside the woods to search for the famous delicious mushroom found in the outskirts of Tuscany. It was their weekly routine but that day was going to be different than the prior ones. 

Unsuccessful Attempts

That afternoon, the mushroom pickers didn’t find any luck in finding the edible mushrooms they were looking for. It seemed like some other group came before them and cleaned the mushrooms. So, now they were left with just one choice. 

Splitting Their Paths

As they were not finding any success in their search near the trail, the group decided to go off the trail and look for the mushrooms in the woods. They split into groups of two and headed into different directions. while others were searching as per planned, one pair came across a weird sight that they forgot about the mushrooms completely.

A Trail Of Trash

They just walked a few yards and found an area that was filled with trash. At first, they thought it must be the work of some careless campers,  but soon the picture was going to be clear in front of them.

Tin Cans To Hold Rainwater

As the pair of mushroom pickers followed the trail of trash, they noticed a can hanging from the trees to hold water. Someone did this and it felt like that someone was still somewhere around them. Soon, this gut feeling was about to turn into truth.

Makeshift Camp

Somewhere in between all this trash, stood an extremely small makeshift camp. It felt like someone was living in that area from quite a while. They couldn’t guess how much but they were quite sure that it wasn’t the work some careless campers. 

Not Alone

The foragers turned back as they could feel someone standing behind them. The hikers later explained that the man had “a dirty face and large beard.” They were scared of encountering a man in that weird condition and instead of talking to him, they turned around and walked back. 

Returning With Help

The hikers returned to their respective villages but they didn’t forget this man they saw in the woods. And they informed a forest ranger in the area about this encounter. The ranger asked them to show him where exactly this had happened and that evening they went back to the same place to check on this man.

Since 1997

As they showed the forest ranger the place where this man lived, they stayed behind while the ranger took a step ahead to question this man. The man replied to all the ranger’s questions in one statement: “I’m Spanish, my name is Carlos, and I’ve been living here since 1997.” But was there any proof of it? And what will Carlos do in the woods of Italy?

Passport Proof

The man showed all his IDs and the name on them was Carlos Sanchez Ortiz de Salazar. If it was all correct, it will conclude that Carlos was alive and living in the woods. However, Carlos wasn’t happy at all with these intruders in his personal space. And then he warned them before they left.

Need To Get Out Of Here

“I don’t want to live among people. Now that you have found me, I need to get out of here,” said Carlos to the people who asked him to come back with them. The former doctor was clearly not in a mood to go back to ordinary life. 

Taking Photos

The forest ranger clicked photos of Carlos’ IDs to check with the related authorities if the story that told was correct or not. As this newfound information reached to his family, they couldn’t stay back in Spain anymore. 

Born Again?

On knowing that her son made it through the past two decades all alone, Amelia booked the first ticket to Italy and reached the area the very next day. But was she able to meet her son? Time was about to fill Amelia with more disappointment. She said to the Italian press: “It was as if our son had been born again.”

Or Gone Again?

To everyone’s disappointment, Carlos was gone again. By the time his family reached the spot, the only thing that was left was his footsteps. The only thing that was good in this was the fact that came into light, ie, back in 1995, Carlos left with his own will. 

The Important Thing

Carlos’ family left for Spain in the same week and his mother, Amelia, left by the end of the month. Before leaving Italy, her mother had just one to tell the media: “He’s alive and that is the important thing. We will respect his wishes and his freedom, but we won’t go home until we have at least given him a hug, even for a few moments.”

Left Behind

The missing man left behind his trash including bottles, tarps, shoes, buckets, and other survival tools. How he managed to live without any cash and cards was out of anyone’s imagination. The only person who held the answer to these questions was gone.

Keeping An Eye

“We will continue to keep an eye out in the forest, but we won’t be actively searching for anybody. This is not the responsibility of the council and after all, he is hiding of his own free will,” explained Marcello Stella, mayor near the Scarlino.

Almost Impossible Task

Carlos’ family understood it was almost impossible to find a man who was hiding willingly in the 35 square miles of forest. The fact that Carlos didn’t wish to be found was something everyone had to make peace with.

Following The Case

Advocate Nicodemo Gentile, missing persons’ advocate in the region said: “We will continue to follow this case and help [Salazar’s] family with the hope that one day they can embrace the son who left them… all those years ago.”

Relief In Tragedy

Carlos’ sister Olga later tweeted: ‘Thank you for giving us hope that has given some relief in the terrible tragedy that we have been living.’ They all have left Carlos on his will. They still wait for him on Christmas eves…