Safety Concern Surfaces Along El Camino De Santiago After An American Tourist Went Missing In Spain’s Famous Pilgrimage Route
An American tourist went missing in April after taking a journey on Spain's famous pilgrimage path, El Camino de Santiago.
Denise Thiem, just like most of the people around the globe, was inspired to start travelling after she has seen the movie entitled, "The Way," - which is story of an American father who journeyed to France to search for the body of his son.
NPR reported on Sunday that Thiem, an IT project manager in Arizona, decided to quit her job to start travelling.
"She had learned that the Camino was a very enlightening experience," says Desiree Yao [Thiem's cousin]. "She was traveling for a couple months around the world, so the Camino was her last stop, and then afterwards she was supposed to fly back home."
The 41-year-old tourist was last seen on April 5 after she parted ways with a travelling acquaintance to start a new leg. Prior to her disappearance, Thiem attended a mass in the town of Astorga and watched an Easter parade.
A few weeks after she disappeared, police authorities searched the pilgrimage route in hopes that they would find any signs of Thiem, however, they found nothing, not even Thiem's backpack and belongings.
Yao also said that Thiem's brother, Cedric, posted a message on Camino de Santiago's website and later received responses from women who have been attacked in Camino.
"A lot of the other hikers didn't take it seriously. They said, 'Oh, people sometimes want to take time off,' and 'The Camino is the safest place on Earth,'" she says. "But then we started hearing from a lot of other women who have previously been attacked on the Camino. There were even a few occasions of attempted abduction. It's just appalling!"
Meanwhile, a suspect linking to the disappearance of Thiem was arrested on Friday and led the police authorities to a body, as reported by Daily Mail on Saturday.
However, Spanish officials have yet to confirm whether the remains are those of the American tourist or not. Also, the officials did not disclose the identity of the suspect or where the decomposing body was located.
