The official spokesman for SOS Desaparecidos in Tenerife, Santiago Carlos Martín, gave a press conference yesterday saying: "There are no social media challenges at all, the constant complaints about the disappearance of minors is simply a problem of society, and their high number has a lot to do with reception centres."
This is how he explained the reality behind the numerous cases of missing teenagers that is happening, not only in the Canary Islands, but in the whole of Spain, and that this week have returned to the front page of the news due to the disappearance of up to five teens in Tenerife at the same time, of which four have been located and only one remains active.
Image of the four cases of missing people that are still active in the Canary Islands. SOS Desaparecidos
"In reality, there was never a challenge on the Internet that caused the disappearance of minors in Spain, which has been confirmed by the Ministry of the Interior on several occasions," Martín never tires of repeating, "but what is evident is that there are many cases, and the fact that there are many cases related to institutional reception centres for minors, confirms that the cause lies in a problem generated by society, and that society has to face it”.
The figures confirm that Spain does have a serious problem with the disappearance of minors. The latest available statistics, which correspond to 2019, reflect that of the 5,529 active complaints for disappearances, 2,839 (51%) were minors.
