Alex Trelinski
A RELATIVE of a missing Malaga man discovered by sheer chance on Tuesday that he had died and been buried.
The 64-year-old disappeared on February 26 and when a family member went to a Malaga City health centre a fortnight later to see if they’d heard from him, a computer check revealed news of his death and burial.
The information came from the public health computer network, with the family not having been notified that he had died, let alone being given an option over how to say goodbye to him.
They were informed that he had been ‘discharged from the system’ following his death and a cemetery confirmed that his remains were there.
The distressed family are taking legal action to find out the circumstances of his death and what procedures were or were not taken, according to the SOS Desaparecidos association, which publicised the man’s disappearance.
The Polica Nacional said that a patrol was called to a Malaga address on February 29 after the property owner said that a friend who visiting him had suddenly died.
An ambulance team went to the home and confirmed the man passed away from natural causes.
Police officers tried to a locate a relative without success and the home owner told them that he had been told by deceased man that he had no family.
The body became the responsibility of Social Affairs and on March 8, a relative did file a report that he had not heard from him for days.
The Police Homicide Unit acted on the report to try to locate him and at the same time, a member of the man’s family went to the health centre to find out about his death.
