Colombia

Man Vanishes from MIA After Failing to Catch Connecting Flight to Colombia

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A Colombian man who came to get vaccinated has gone missing while catching a connecting flight at Miami International Airport.

Miguel Angel Roldan, a 23-year-old from Colombia, had come to the United States to receive his COVID-19 vaccine and was visiting a friend from California. He was on his way back home, trying to catch a connecting flight from Miami when he suddenly vanished.

His family said he was turned away at the gate for not having a negative COVID-19 test.

Roldan's mother has been desperate since her son went missing on July 24th.

“I don’t even know what to believe or think,” Alejandra Maria Cordoba told NBC 6 in Spanish.

Police say Roldan was last seen leaving the airport and never attempted to board his flight.

"Miguel went directly from the front the gate to door 2 that exits the airport,” said Public Information Officer for Miami-Dade Police, Alvaro Zabaleta. “There was no attempt to make the connection flight”

Four days before leaving California, Roldan lost a bag that had his cell phone and other belongings, so the day he went missing all he had on him was a passport and $40 in cash.

Police say before leaving the airport, surveillance images captured Roldan asking someone for help.

“In the surveillance camera he asked someone for a cell phone to assist him to make a phone call. The person said no,” said Zabaleta.

Neither Roldan or his family have any connections to South Florida, which is why his mother says it took so long to file a missing persons report.

Mauricio Arcilla, a member of the organization ‘Zona 33’ that helps Colombians who live in the U.S., said they filed a report on the family’s behalf.

“We’ve gone to the local morgues, hospitals but no one that matches his description was there,” Arcilla told us in Spanish.

Roldan’s mother tells us he suffers from anxiety and depression but that he has never just disappeared.

If you have seen Roldan or know anything about his whereabouts contact Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-8477.

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