A 23-year-old man, Eduardo Mauricio da Silva, was discovered disoriented in a forested area five days after attending a New Year’s Eve church service and subsequently going missing in Bertioga, a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Reports suggest that Eduardo asked a colleague to drop him off on the side of a highway in the Sítio São João neighborhood just before midnight on December 31, claiming he was heading to a friend’s house.
His family’s last contact with him was a text message to his father around 2 am on January 1, requesting a car through an app. Unfortunately, his father only saw the message upon waking up later that morning and realizing Eduardo was not at home. Following this, Eduardo’s father reported him missing at 5 pm that day.
During the search, Eduardo’s family received surveillance footage showing him in a wooded area in the Caiubura neighborhood. Eventually, a man contacted the family, claiming he had spotted Eduardo, leading to his discovery.
Eduardo was found by his family and friends in a remote forest on January 5, appearing weak, malnourished, and disoriented. Though the circumstances of his disappearance remain unclear, his aunt mentioned that he seems emotionally shaken.
The Fire Department was alerted on Monday but discovered Eduardo had already been located by his family. He is currently receiving medical attention at a hospital in Baixada Santista. Coincidentally, on the same day Eduardo was found, another man, Roberto Farias Tomaz, who had gone missing on New Year’s Day while hiking in Pico Paraná, was also located after a five-day search. Roberto had managed to walk 20km through challenging terrain before reaching safety.