Juan Vidal, an eighty-one-year-old resident of San Cayetano, Torre Pacheco, has been found dead after going missing on Saturday afternoon. Search teams discovered his body in the channel of the Tajo-Segura transfer near Las Casas de El Albujón, approximately fourteen kilometres from where he was last seen. Authorities suspect he may have accidentally fallen into the canal.

The local police reported finding a shoe belonging to the elderly man in the water, which raised concerns that he may have slipped into the hydraulic infrastructure. The emergency services received a distress call at nine twenty-three on Saturday evening after family members had expressed worry. Vidal had left home around five o’clock and did not return, usually expected back around half past seven.

Emergency response teams, including the Guardia Civil, fire services, and local volunteers, immediately mobilised for a search operation after family members and neighbours unsuccessfully searched for several hours. On Sunday, additional support from the Consortium of Fire Extinction and Rescue of the Region of Murcia, as well as a helicopter from the General Directorate of Citizen Security and Emergencies, joined the ongoing search efforts.

In a message posted on their Facebook page, the local police offered their deepest condolences to the family and thanked all those who contributed to the search effort, saying, ‘Rest in peace, Juan.’