Stranger Things Brazil: Kid Disappears and Mystery Lasts 31 Years
If you watched Netflix's “Stranger Things” series, you may find some similarities to this mystery that has intrigued experts for over three decades.
Marco Aurelio Simon, 15, was with three friends and the scout leader when he disappeared without a trace. The case involved one of the largest search teams in the country, and even 31 years after the disappearance, the family still believes he is alive.
The case
It was June 8, 1985, and Marco Aurelio met with three friends to camp at Pico dos Marins, in São Paulo. The teenagers were guided by Juan Bernabeu Céspedes, leader of the Boy Scouts and much respected in the region.
The site is in the municipality of Piquete, in São Paulo, and has more than 2, 400 meters high, being considered the second highest peak in the state. It is a region of steep climbs, but does not require special equipment and is often visited by tourists.
Afonso Xavier, a gentleman who knew the place very well, offered a space for the group to settle. Even being experienced that day, Juan was lost in the woods. To complicate matters further, one of the boys, Osvaldo Lobeiro, injured his knee, which made the leader even more tense. Not wanting to scare the boys, he said nothing about it and allowed Marco Aurelio to go his own way.
Juan said the boy should carry a chalk and mark the stones along the route number 240, which identified the Olivetan Boy Scout Group.
When they began to follow the path, they saw three stones with the markings of Marcus Aurelius, until they came to a fork: the young man had chosen to follow the trail on the left, where there were some obstacles that would hinder the group's locomotion with the young man. injured.
Thus, Juan decided to take the right side, even contrary to the boys' opinion. To calm them down, he said that the trails would meet again ahead, and so they would see Marco - this information was not true.
That decision made them take a longer route: the accident happened at 2 pm, but they only made it back to camp around 5 am the next day, braving a dawn with temperatures below freezing.
The group arrived at the camp hoping to find Marcus Aurelius sleeping in a tent, but there was no sign that the young man had passed by.
The next morning, Juan returned to the trails and sought the youth for 5 hours. Unsuccessfully, he finally warned the authorities of the disappearance.
Over 28 days, more than 300 people searched the site for any clues as to what had happened.
For 28 days, more than 300 people searched the site for any clue as to what had happened to Marco. Soldiers and officers of the Military Police, Army Infantry Battalion, firefighters, climbers, bushmen, guides, rescue specialists, volunteers, dogs, helicopters and even an Air Force plane were involved. Even psychics, psychics and fortune tellers participated in the operation.
This was the largest search ever conducted in the country; Even so, nothing was ever found.
The aliens
Theories about the disappearance are many, and one delegate has even cited the involvement of extraterrestrials, since Pico dos Marins is considered a region with a lot of magnetic power.
On the second night of searching, the teenagers who were with Marco Aurelio were preparing to sleep near the point of disappearance when they heard a whistle sound coming from the woods. Knowing that the boy, being a boy scout, had a whistle, the group rushed off toward the scene when, unexpectedly, they saw blue flashes that lit and went out three times. They shouted and used their whistles, but had no response.
The group rushed toward the scene when, unexpectedly, they saw blue flashes that lit and went out three times. They shouted and used their whistles but had no response
Some ufologists, knowing the report, say this was the moment when the young man could have been abducted.
Desperate, Marco's parents went to Brasilia to talk to an Air Force general who said he was communicating with the ETs. They asked for the boy's return, but there was never any response from the general.
Family members also sought out psychic Chico Xavier, who said to them, "I only communicate with people who have disembodied, not with the living."
More than 30 seers contacted the family and, coincidentally, most gave similar reports: they would have had visions of the young man walking in the countryside near a river. All this gives hope that Marco did not die.
Was Juan to blame?
During the search, all places in the region were investigated, and, according to João Correa, one of the guides who assisted in the operation: “In everything that we could enter we entered. If it was not found it is because it was not in the area; if it had been there we would have found it. ”
Naturally, leader Juan was named as the prime suspect and called irresponsible for leaving a teenager alone in a place he did not know. He has been investigated and questioned, but no evidence has been found to link him to the disappearance.
The twin brother
Marco Aurélio has a twin brother, Marco Antônio, who is currently 46 years old. It is his photos that serve as a reference for the police to continue the search.
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We thank reader Diego, who suggested the subject of this article. Want to suggest the next story? Leave your comment here!
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