By Lucia I Suarez Sang / Updated March 29, 2026
A body was found during a search for an American Airlines flight attendant who disappeared during a layover in Medellín, Colombia, the city’s mayor said Friday.
Eric Fernando Gutierrez Molina, 32, a U.S. citizen and North Texas resident, went missing Saturday evening after a night out with a fellow flight attendant. The two visited a bar in Medellín’s El Poblado neighborhood, popular with international tourists, according to family, friends and Colombian officials. Gutierrez Molina was scheduled to work a return flight from Medellín to Miami on Sunday. His longtime partner, Ernesto Carranza, said he became worried when he couldn’t reach him Sunday morning.
Medellín Mayor Fico Gutiérrez said a “lifeless body” was found between the municipalities of Jericó and Puente Iglesias during the search for Gutierrez Molina. “There is a very high probability that it is this person,” he wrote on social media, adding the body was being taken to Medellín’s coroner’s office for identification. “We express our solidarity to his family and friends. I have just personally delivered the painful news to his father, who is in Medellín.”
An investigation is underway, and additional details were not immediately available.
In an internal memo to flight attendants, American Airlines said it was “heartbroken to share the news” of Gutierrez Molina’s death and that it was “actively engaged” with Colombian authorities as the investigation continues. The airline said it was doing everything it could to support his family and help return him home to be laid to rest.
Carranza told CBS News that after he could not reach Gutierrez Molina, his phone appeared to be pinging two locations in Medellín that were not near his hotel. “Both locations were nowhere near where he was supposed to sleep for the night,” Carranza said. A friend, Sharom Gil, said the other flight attendant who went out with Gutierrez Molina reported not remembering parts of the night.
The U.S. Embassy in Colombia said it was restricted from speaking about most individual cases due to federal privacy laws. The State Department said it was “aware” of reports of Gutierrez Molina’s disappearance and was closely tracking the situation, adding it stands ready to provide consular assistance.
José Diaz, Kathryn Krupnik and Cristian Benavides contributed to this report.