Alicante Residents Report Over 75 Disappearances Each Month

Reports of missing persons in Spain during 2024 have increased by 6% compared to the previous year, with 23,645 cases recorded. 4% of these notifications pertain to the province of Alicante, according to data from the annual report on missing persons by the National Centre for Missing Persons (CNDES).

The 925 cases recorded in the province of Alicante result in an average of over 75 reports each month. Of these, 67.8% involve minors, with three out of ten being foreign nationals. Additionally, one in three of the total open cases remains active, according to the annual report. In terms of gender, more than half are women (52.5%).

Data from the Ministry of the Interior indicates a significant rate of recurrence. 11,552 of the 26,345 reports involve individuals with a single disappearance episode, while the remaining 14,793 involve only 4,595 citizens, who have an average of 3.2 reports per person.

In absolute terms, 16,147 people were reported missing in 2024. Of these, 49.4% are minors, 63% are men, and 63.8% are Spanish citizens. The provinces with the highest number of recorded cases are Madrid, Las Palmas, Barcelona, Valencia, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

The total number of disappearance reports registered by the Security Forces in the System of Missing Persons and Unidentified Bodies and Human Remains (PDyRH) since records began amounts to 321,687, of which 307,332 have been resolved, representing 95.5%.

In 2025, some disappearances in the province of Alicante or of Alicante residents lost in other regions have been clarified, such as the hiker from Elche found dead this Holy Wednesday in a mountain in Asturias.

The Civil Guard found the body of the mountaineer who had been missing for two days. According to the Emergency Service of the Principality of Asturias (SEPA), the young man was supposed to leave the Lindes area towards Meicín on Monday but never arrived.

The refuge director called emergency services to report that he had not heard from the mountaineer. According to the call, the man from Elche had left alone from Lindes to the Puertos de Agüeria on Sunday, where he spent the night in open cabins.

Rescue Group members from SEPA were immediately mobilised, departing by land with the Canine Unit and Drone Unit. Two days after the disappearance, the Armed Institute confirmed the worst fears.

Regarding the disappearances of foreign nationals in the province of Alicante during 2025, the case of Swiss footballer Jakov Jelkic stands out, who went missing after leaving a city nightclub. The 24-year-old had arrived in the city on Friday, January 31, to enjoy a holiday with his teammates. On February 3, the National Police found his body floating in the Port of Alicante.

It was the second lifeless body found in the Alicante port. Just hours earlier, the police discovered the body of a disabled woman whose disappearance had been reported hours before. Divers from the Special Group of Underwater Activities (GEAS) of the Civil Guard found her wheelchair next to the body.

Not all disappearances end tragically. Two weeks after the double tragedy at the Port of Alicante, firefighters found a woman alive who had disappeared in Castalla hours earlier.