Walter Finch
CATALAN and German police are investigating the whereabouts of a couple from Hamburg who vanished in Barcelona, leaving behind a series of unsettling clues.
The grey Volkswagen van belonging to Ralf Buchholz and Petra Gehde, both 53, was discovered unlocked on a street in the troubled La Mina neighbourhood on July 19.
Petra is described as 1.68m (5ft 6), thin, sporting dark blond hair with highlights, and a wrist tattoo, while Ralf is 1.67m (5ft 5), has a normal build, brown hair with some white, and is diabetic.
As well as their belongings and documentation, officers were shocked to find a dog and a cat inside the van.
It was only thanks to the investigation of the local animal shelter manager who took in the pets that the couple’s disappearance was officially registered at all.
Catalan detectives traced the pair to a different town near the French border in the company of a third person on the day their van was discovered.
Initially unaware the owners were missing, local police removed the van and transferred the animals to a local animal shelter.
The shelter manager was able to identify the owners by contacting the pet chip centre in Germany who said the dog was registered to Ralf Buchholz.
Unable to reach him, the manager searched online and found a company he managed in Hamburg. There, they learned that neither Ralf nor Petra Gehde had been in contact for weeks.
The company, which specialises in wholesale fruit transport, was told that the couple had said they were taking a short break to disconnect from work.
Barrio de La Mina – Barcelona
They had last communicated via text message on July 16, and Ralf had contacted them again on July 17 from an unknown number.
Through the company’s employees, the shelter manager managed to locate one of Petra’s children, who also had had no news of their mother.
Upon hearing the circumstances of the van’s discovery, the son filed a missing persons report with the German police.
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The shelter manager then reported the disappearance to Catalunya’s Mossos d’Esquadra, who took over the investigation.
They discovered that on the morning of the day the van was found in La Mina, Ralf and Petra had been staying at a hotel in La Jonquera, near the French border.
Their investigations also found evidence that they were with a third person who recorded their departure from the hotel together with the couple.
Now, more than two months later, and with missing persons reports filed in both Spain and Germany, a Sosdesaparecidos alert has been activated.
