GüIMAR – The lifeless body of six-year-old Olivia, one of the sisters kidnapped by her father on Tenerife at the end of April, has been found on the bottom of the sea near the Spanish island. On Thursday evening, the Guardia Civil may also have found the body of the father and other daughter, baby Anna.
Father Tomás Gimeno, 37, kidnapped his two daughters on April 27th. He told the girls’ mother, Beatriz Zimmerman, over the phone, she would never see them again. Spanish police services and investigative units have been searching for weeks around the father’s residence in Tenerife, but mainly at sea.
The Spanish news site Malagahoy.es wrote on Thursday that Beatriz has never given up hope. She firmly believed her ex-partner had taken the girls to another country.
Dad brought bags aboard his boat in Tenerife
The reason for the extensive search at sea was the father had probably taken the girls on his boat. On 27th April, CCTV footage at the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife showed Gimeno carrying several bags aboard the boat. After that, every trace was missing. However, the father was not seen together with the girls on the camera images.
Sonarboot detects sports bags at a depth of 1 km
At the end of May, a special sonar boat was deployed that can detect strange objects many kilometres deep in the sea. It discovered on Thursday two sports bags at a depth of about 1,000 metres. These were attached to the anchor of Father Tomás’ boat.
The boat floated almost 2 kilometres from the port of Güimar, Tenerife. In one of the sports bags, the police found the body of six-year-old Olivia. The other gym bag was empty.
Guardia Civil may also have found the body of father and youngest sister
At the end of the day on Thursday, sources from the Guardia Civil said they may have sight of the bodies of father Tomás and the youngest sister, 1-year-old Anna. Their bodies are said to be near where the body of the eldest daughter Olivia was found. However, this news has not yet been officially confirmed.
Shortly after the discovery of the body, police informed the girls’ mother. A few hours later, forensics confirmed that it was Olivia.
Spanish Prime Minister expresses condolences
The Spanish Prime Minister expressed his condolences to mother Beatriz on Twitter yesterday: “I cannot imagine the magnitude of pain of Anna and Olivia’s mother after hearing this terrible news. My warmth and love and that of my family go out to Beatriz and her loved ones.”
