Susana Cruz, the mother of Melani Hernández Cruz, a 16-year-old who had been missing in Havana since last Monday, announced on Tuesday night that her daughter had been found. She revealed that the teenager had been held against her will by a man. "I found my girl. That son of a... had her kidnapped and tied up," she stated alongside a photo of her daughter in a car.
Details about how her daughter was found remain sparse, as Susana Cruz did not disclose the circumstances of the discovery or whether the alleged kidnapper was apprehended by the authorities.
In the comments section of her post, many expressed relief and joy at the news, while others questioned the mother's account. Some suggested that the story might not be fully accurate and speculated that the teenager might have left voluntarily.
Previously, Susana had shared a picture of the supposed abductor and mentioned sightings in the Marianao district of Havana. Earlier reports indicated that the last known location of the teenager was outside her school, Raúl Cepero Bonilla Polytechnic, in the La Víbora neighborhood of the Diez de Octubre municipality.
Susana Cruz had reported that her daughter did not attend classes on Monday morning and was last seen around 8:15 a.m. Unfortunately, the increase in violence in Cuba has been accompanied by more frequent reports of missing persons. This has led families, lacking an official channel to address these issues, to turn to social media and independent outlets in their desperate search for help in finding their loved ones.