Patricia disappeared after her birthday - one year later her father received a phone call that made him shiver
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There is nothing worse for a parent than seeing their child in danger. Just ask Patricia Aguillar's father.
Patricia was an ordinary girl who looked forward and anticipated her 18th birthday, the day she would officially become an adult. But her family had no idea about her first big decision as an adult. A decision that will change her life forever.
Here is Patricia Aguillar on her birthday, January 18, 2017.
A few days later she suddenly disappeared. Her heartbroken family filled her home town of Elche, Spain, with signs of Patricia.
On the day she disappeared, Patricia's father, Alberto, noticed that money was missing from the house. And when they heard her last voice message, they were completely confused. In the message she said, "I'll be fine, we'll talk in a few hours".
Found in Peru
Two days later the family received a message from the telephone company. It turns out that Patricia canceled her cell phone line and activated a Peruvian phone line instead, the father told the TVE channel.
Now they know Patricia is in Peru. But why did she go from Spain to Peru?
They carefully went through Patricia's room and belongings, desperate for answers. After a short time they began to suspect that she was in contact with a cult.
In the things she wrote in her school notebooks, they found information about a flight to Lima, Peru. They also found various prayers, transcripts, and other evidence that linked her to a cult. In one of the transcripts it was written: "Forget the city and your father's house".
A strange message
"It's very hard to believe because it's like a movie", said her father, Alberto.
So one day, they got a voicemail from Patricia saying: "Follow these instructions, delete the pictures. I'll give you an address to send money to, and then I'll go to the embassy".
Patricia wanted them to send her money and erase all her pictures. If they agreed, she will go to the Spanish embassy in Lima.
After hearing this, Patricia's aunt, Pina, could only say one thing: "This is not Patricia. Someone who doesn't know her might believe it, but not us. Someone is manipulating her".
"We are waiting for her with open arms, we love her and if she comes home we will not be angry," the aunt added. Her father, Alberto, wanted only one thing: "I would like her to wake up and get out of this. I love her so much, and she knows it".
Two weeks later, the family informed SOS Desparecidos, an organization that helps finding missing people, about Patricia's disappearance from Spain.
Found through social medias
According to criminologist and cult expert Jose Manuel Moreno, Patricia ran off with a cult called Gnosis, a type of cult that looks for young people who are very active on social media. Cult members create a fake profile with a picture of a young man or woman and contact teenage boys and girls and talk to them about their interests.
After Patricia's uncle passed away, she became interested in esoteric things, and through this came the connection with the man who enticed her to join the cult.
After a year of intensive investigation, Alberto Aguillar managed to locate his daughter.
They also found other boys and girls who were considered missing. And now the cult leaders have been arrested, according to the organization that helped find Patricia.
Patricia ha sido encontrada por la policia así como las otras chicas y niños que estaban desaparecidos y Felix Steven Manrique ha sido detenido. Iremos ampliando información. Muchas Gracias a todos los que habeis hecho fuerza para que esto suceda.
— Sos Patricia Aguilar (@sospatriciasos) July 5, 2018
The family didn't just get their beloved Patricia back - they now have a new family member. Patricia got pregnant and gave birth to a boy while she was in the cult.
We hope Patricia feels better and comes to terms with what she has been through. Let's share this to remind all parents to pay attention to sudden changes in their children's behavior.
