Body found in Colombia in search for Texas-based American Airlines flight attendant
A 32-year-old American Airlines flight attendant from Texas is believed to have been found dead after he went missing during a layover in Colombia last weekend, authorities said.
The mayor of Medellín, Colombia, said in a social media post Friday that a body, believed to be Eric Fernando Gutierrez Molina, was found between Jericó and Puente Iglesias. Gutierrez Molina’s father and the U.S. Ambassador to Colombia were notified.
A medical examiner will determine his cause of death, authorities said.
“Unfortunately, a lifeless body has just been found between the municipality of Jericó and Puente Iglesias,” Mayor Fico Gutiérrez wrote in Spanish in a post on X. “There is a very high probability that it is this person. The lifeless body is being transported to legal medicine in Medellín for identification and recognition. We express our solidarity to his family and friends. I have just personally delivered the painful news to his father, who is in Medellín.”
The mayor’s post suggested that the flight attendant may have been the victim of a crime. “The investigations carried out by the Police and the Prosecutor’s Office are very advanced and they would have very clear leads on those responsible,” he wrote. “Let justice be done.”
Gutierrez Molina, who lived in Dallas, was reported missing after he disappeared during a routine crew layover in Medellín, KXAS-TV reported.
He arrived in Colombia on Saturday night on a flight from Miami. After the overnight layover, Gutierrez Molina and his colleagues were scheduled to return to the United States on a flight to Miami on Sunday morning, according to local public television channel Telemedellín.
Friends and coworkers filed missing person reports with local authorities. Gutierrez Molina went missing shortly after sharing his location at an Airbnb, KDFW-TV reported.
Sharom Gil, one of Gutierrez Molina’s friends, told Telemedellín that the missing man and another colleague left the hotel to go out on the town. Gutierrez Molina and the coworker met two guys at a club and went to party at another place after the club closed, Gil said.
Dallas-Fort Worth based American Airlines officials told FOX 4 that they were actively engaged with local law enforcement and were providing support to Gutierrez Molina’s family during the investigation.
This story was originally published March 26, 2026 at 2:51 PM.