The disappearance of children and adolescents has become a growing concern in Bogotá after the city’s Security Secretariat reported 19 cases during the last week, the majority involving minors. Twelve of those reported missing were subsequently found alive, while the search continues for the remaining seven. Authorities said several of the cases were linked to family conflicts.
The cases have brought renewed attention to the wider number of minors reported missing in the capital and to questions about what happens to those who do not quickly return home.
Among the children and adolescents whose cases have attracted attention are 14-year-old María Fernanda Sánchez, who disappeared on September 9. Her last known location was in the Porvenir neighbourhood of Soacha, south of Bogotá, at around 3 p.m.
Paula Ibáñez Vásquez, 14, was last seen in Bogotá on September 7. Sharick Nicoll Chia Carrizosa, 16, is also being sought, while 14-year-old Alana Sofía Castañeda Chávez was reported missing after being seen at Clarelandia Park in the Bosa locality.
Another prominent case was that of 15-year-old Joseph Santiago Santamaría, who disappeared on September 10 after leaving school in northwestern Bogotá. His family appealed for information and called for access to security-camera footage after he was last seen entering a TransMilenio station.
Santamaría was subsequently found alive in central Bogotá by investigators from the Fiscalía’s CTI. The Security Secretariat said he was receiving medical attention, while the Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF) was undertaking procedures to restore and protect his rights.
Another recent case involving Angie Jimena Arévalo also ended with the teenager returning home, according to Security Secretariat, César Restrepo.
294 reports involving minors this year
The latest cases form part of a wider and troubling picture.
According to figures cited by Bogotá City Council, 538 children and adolescents were reported missing in Bogotá during the first six months of 2026. Of those, 362 were girls or adolescent women and 176 were boys or adolescent men.
Adolescents between 12 and 17 years old accounted for 462 reports, or approximately 86 percent of the total involving minors. Ciudad Bolívar recorded 67 cases in this age group, followed by Kennedy with 59 and Bosa with 58.
The broader figures show a harrowing 1,340 missing-persons in Bogotá during the first six months of 2026, compared with 2,360 during the whole of 2025 and 2,391 in 2024.
A separate District count gives a more recent picture. According to figures cited by María Clara Name, coordinator of the Bogotá Council’s Children’s Caucus, 294 children and adolescents had been reported missing between January and September 2026. Of those, 162 had been found, while 19 had not yet returned home at the time of the report.
“Every 20 hours a minor goes missing in Bogotá” – César Restrepo
The concentration of cases among adolescents has also prompted concern in the Bogotá City Council over whether some disappearances could be associated with more serious forms of sexual exploitation and other criminal activity, including human trafficking.
The concern over missing minors has been compounded by the discovery of the body of a young girl inside a drainage canal in Ciudad Bolívar. On September 15, residents of the J.J Rondón neighbourhood alerted authorities after children playing in the area came across the body. The Metropolitan Police, Bogotá Fire Department and the Fiscalía’s CTI responded to the scene, with the victim subsequently transferred to the National Forensic Institute – Medicina Legal – for identification and examination. The girl was identified as nine-year-old Ana Lucía Gonzaléz, reported missing on september 14 in the nearby municipality of Mosquera.
Galán: “No case can be taken lightly”
Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán said the District is treating every disappearance of a minor with the greatest seriousness and is supporting the Fiscalía and Police investigations. “Absolutely every case of disappearances of minors in Bogotá is taken with the greatest seriousness and rigour by the Mayor’s Office,” Galán said.
He said his instruction to Security Secretary César Restrepo was that every report involving a missing minor should receive support from the District, while families should be accompanied throughout the search. “No case can be taken lightly or discarded,” stated Galán. “That is the instruction I have given and that is how we are working.”
For Bogotá, the immediate challenge is finding those who remain missing while establishing what lies behind the growing number of reports involving children and adolescents. Each case requires an individual investigation, but the concentration of reports among teenagers has made the issue a growing concern for families, investigators and the city’s authorities.
Authorities stress that families should not wait 72 hours to report a disappearance. A case should be reported immediately through the Fiscalía’s 122 line, Bogotá’s 123 emergency line, or the District’s AIDE programme at (601) 377 9595, extension 1137.
