A 55-year-old married man has been arrested after he was linked to the disappearance of his eight-year-old daughter and mother who were last seen in May 2016 in Florida, United States.
On Tuesday, Gustavo Castaño Restrepo, made his first appearance in the Miami Magistrate Court where he’s facing two charges of kidnapping resulting in death of Liliana Moreno, 43, and their daughter, Daniella Moreno.
“It has been eight years and we haven’t heard anything from them, so it was really, really shocking and unbelievable,” Liliana’s brother, Eduardo Moreno, told Local 10 News.
The broadcaster, Restrepo was under a cloud of suspicion from when the mother and child disappeared.
It was said that he was the girl’s biological father but had kept that as a secret from his wife and family.
It was reported that Restrepo was the last person to see the woman and child and he told police that he dropped the pair off near a retail store, Home Depot in Hialeah Gardens after they had lunch together. Inside their home, there was unfinished cooking, Liliana’s phone and a purse left behind.
According to the Daily Mail, police learned about the mother and daughter disappearance after receiving a call on May 31, 2016 from Liliana's sister in Colombia, who was worried after she had not heard from the mother in several days.
It was further reported that police discovered that the eight-year-old had not been in school the previous Friday.
Restrepo is expected back in court on Friday where he will be applying for bail.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
IOL News