Name: Yuri Santana
Date of Birth/ age at time: (17)
Date of Disappearance:04/10/2016
Ethnicity: originally from Brazil
Location: from his home on Rangitata Huts Road, Clandeboye, near Temuka, in South Canterbury. He was last seen on Badham Rd, northeast of Temuka at 11:40 am over an hour later.
Height: 1.82 metres ( 182cm)
Build: med
Distinguishing features: Yuri was last seen wearing light blue shorts and a light grey zip-up jacket with green stripes on the sleeves. He had no mobile phone or eftpos card on him.
Circumstances
Yuri Santana(17) , went missing at on October 4, 2016 from his home on Rangitata Huts Road, Clandeboye, near Temuka, in South Canterbury. He was last seen on Badham Rd, northeast of Temuka at 11:40 am over an hour later.
Yuri and his family were originally from Brazil and had been in NZ for the past decade.
On the morning that he went missing, his mum said that he had been quiet.
His mum Rosie told the NZ Herald,
“He was walking back and forth, and then he was [seated] on the sofa, and was having toast with Marmite.”
She asked where he was going as he put on shoes and socks.
“He said, ‘I am just going for a walk’. He walked away to the door and didn’t come back.”
Rosie said Yuri had suffered from depression in the past and had been on and off medication since 2015.
He had “started having trouble again before he went missing”, Rosie said.
Yuri left without a cellphone or bank cards on him.
The day after Yuri went missing, there was a sighting in Temuka, but that was more than 20 km away, Yuri did not have a car or bike, he would have needed a ride to get there.
30 Search and Rescue teams from the Canterbury region scoured the Rangitata River banks and huts. A helicopter was also used in the search.
Subsequent search and rescue efforts in the Rangitata River area failed to find any sign of the missing teenager.
The police called of searches for Yuri eight days after he went missing.
There were no electronic transactions, texts, or social media activity by Yuri since he went missing. Police said at the time, that raised the possibility that something “adverse” could have happened to him, however, all possible scenarios of what might have happened to Yuri were being considered.
People took to Facebook plead for information on where Yuri could be.
On 11 October, speaking to the NZHerald, Officer in charge, Sergeant Mike van der Heyden of Temuka, said it was possible he had hitch-hiked out of the area.
Police believed Santana did not want to be found, he said.
Yuri’s mum also talked to the NZ Herald and told them that not knowing where her son was “painful”.
“I can’t describe the feeling. It’s been really tough. We have no idea where he is right now.”
Although she doesn’t know Yuri’s whereabouts, Santana is sure of one thing.
“I don’t believe he’s dead,” she said of her son.
“I believe that someone saw him. He cannot just disappear like this.
“I know that someone knows what’s happening with my son. And they have to speak out. We need our son back.”
The police called of searches for Yuri eight days after he went missing.
Yuri’s family hired a private investigator in January to help look for their son. A Givealittle page was set up in 2017 to help pay for that work. It raised $660.
The family let the private investigator go in March as “nothing new had come up”.
The last, unconfirmed sighting of a man that looked like Yuri was in March 2017, near Pleasant Point. Yuri’s mum is convinced Yuri is still alive but not in South Canterbury.
In 2017, Police Mid-South Canterbury area commander Inspector Dave Gaskin said there had been several unconfirmed sightings of Yuri but the police were confident none were of Yuri.
The police had carried out “extensive searching”.
He confirmed the police would have to refer the case to the coroner if, “after a certain amount of time”, nothing was found to suggest a missing person would be found.
A facebook page was setup called Where is Yuri Santana?
Yuri is described as 182cm tall, of medium build with dark hair. He was last seen wearing light blue shorts and a light grey zip-up jacket, with green stripes on the sleeves.
Key points:
- Police said 17-year-old Yuri Santana was last seen on Badham Rd, near the intersection of Rangitata Island Rd, near Temuka, at 11.40am on October 4.
- He had left his home on Rangitata Huts Rd in Clandeboye 80 minutes earlier.
- The family was originally from Brazil and had lived in New Zealand for nine years.
- Santana’s mother said he had been quiet the last morning she saw him.
- Santana has dark hair, is 182cm tall and of medium build.
- He was last seen wearing light blue shorts and a light grey zip-up jacket
- Officer in charge, Sergeant Mike van der Heyden of Temuka, said it was possible he had hitch-hiked out of the area.
- “His family want answers, they deserve them. Put yourselves in their shoes.”
- The police may have called off searches for Rosy Santana’s son Yuri eight days after he went missing,
- “I know that someone knows what’s happening with my son. And they have to speak out. We need our son back.”
Anyone who sees or knows what happened to Yuri Santana or has information on his whereabouts should dial 111 or Crimestoppers, which can be done anonymously by calling 0800 555 111.
You can also go to Crimestoppers online :Crimestoppers-nz.org
Our Facebook page: facebook.com/nzmysteries
If you are interested in sponsoring this episode, go to https://www.buymeacoffee.com/nzmysteries
http://patreon.com/nzmysteries
SOURCES
Where is Yuri ? Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/whereisyuri/
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11727700
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11726778
https://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/97765958/mother-of-missing-teen-hopeful-of-a-miracle
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/84971739/police-seek-help-looking-for-missing-south-canterbury-teen
https://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/97765958/mother-of-missing-teen-hopeful-of-a-miracle
https://www.facebook.com/whereisyuri/
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11726778
New Zealand Mysteries 