This individual was recently confirmed to have been identified. Some details may change as more information is released publicly.
This page has been translated from sources not in English and may contain inaccuracies or errors. 
Ailén del Valle López was a teenage girl who committed suicide alongside her boyfriend, Ariel Santas, by jumping in front of a train in Florencio Varela, Argentina.
She was identified on 9 May 2024 alongside her boyfriend. López's mother believes she was coerced into suicide by Santas following several incidents where he had harmed her.
Case[]
Disappearance[]
On 14 February 2013, López left her home in Longchamps and traveled to Santas' home in Florencio Varela without a word to her mother. According to María, López's mother, she immediately reported the disappearance to police when she noticed her daughter was gone. Then, the following day, Santas called her and detailed how he was "nothing" without López and that she ran away due to her mother's attitude towards her relationship. Once more, María phoned the police but was dismissed when her daughter was found with Santas.
When neither could be located on 16 February 2013, María immediately suspected foul play. Weeks before her disappearance, on 23 January 2013, López's mother found her under a bridge two days after leaving the house while arguing with her boyfriend over the phone. Santas was accompanying López, and she was described as looking dirty and having been drugged. María was able to take her daughter home and care for her, as well as take her to a psychologist after receiving the impression that she needed therapy. However, María was only told she was overprotective and was only doing this because she didn't like Santas. Nonetheless, she considered López and Santas' relationship to be "very toxic". María had tried several times before her daughter's disappearance to separate her from Santas and get counselors to help her, however, she was often dismissed.
María once again urged police to locate her daughter with the knowledge that Santas was unstable, and she was told that they were diligently looking for her. However, López and Santas were never heard from again.
Discovery[]
On 16 February 2013, only 15 blocks from Santas' home in Florencio Varela, a train reported running over two individuals on the tracks. The prosecutor's office in Florencio Varela attempted to identify the two, though were unsuccessful. Due to neither person's fingerprints matching any criminal records, they were registered as "NN", or "No Name", and buried.
Identification[]
In 2024, María became interested in local cases of the unidentified deceased, hoping that one may be López. During this time, a second fingerprint analysis linked one of the bodies involved in the suicide-by-train to López. Her mother was immediately informed and thus, the bodies were identified as Ailén del Valle López and Ariel Santas.
Following the identification, María rallied for police to be held accountable for negligence given that the couple had committed suicide only 15 blocks from Santas' home. She currently speaks publicly about how she and López were failed by the local justice system.
Gallery[]
Sources[]
- The Argentinian Ministry of Security (Spanish)
- La Nacion:
- Article #1 (Spanish)
- Article #2 (Spanish)
- Infobae:
- Article #1 (Spanish)
- Article #2 (Spanish)