A young man has been discovered in a disoriented state within a wooded area, five full days after he went missing following a New Year's Eve church service.
The Disappearance on New Year's Day
Eduardo Mauricio da Silva, aged 23, vanished in the early hours of January 1 in Bertioga, a municipality in Brazil's São Paulo state. Reports from Brazilian media indicate that shortly before midnight on December 31, Eduardo asked a colleague to drop him off on the side of a highway in the Sítio São João neighbourhood, claiming he was going to a friend's house.
His last known contact with family was a text message to his father at around 2am on New Year's Day, requesting a car via an app. His father, who was asleep, only saw the message upon waking later that morning and realised his son was not at home.
The Intensive Family-Led Search
By 5pm on January 1, a formal missing person report was filed. The family spearheaded the search effort, receiving images from surveillance cameras that showed Eduardo in a wooded part of the Caiubura neighbourhood. The breakthrough came when a member of the public contacted the family with a potential sighting.
His aunt, Dalva Rosa da Silva, 39, praised the relentless efforts, stating: "We received clues every day that passed. He was found by his own family and dear friends, who dedicated themselves all this time, went into the woods and didn't give up."
Discovery and Recovery
Eduardo was finally located on January 5 in a very remote forested area. Dalva described his condition as "very weak, malnourished, and disoriented." She added that while the circumstances of his disappearance remain unclear, he appeared emotionally shaken.
The local Fire Department confirmed they were alerted on Monday, January 5, but learned the family had already found him. Eduardo is now receiving treatment in a hospital in the Baixada Santista municipality.
In a separate but similarly remarkable incident, another missing person case in Brazil concluded on the same day. Roberto Farias Tomaz, 19, who went missing while hiking on Pico Paraná on New Year's Day, was found alive after walking 20km through difficult terrain. He was located near a farm in Antonina and taken to hospital.
