En el año 2015 ocurrió un hecho que marcó la vida de los habitantes del pequeño pueblo ubicado cerca del Lago Rojo. Era una mañana de verano y la pareja conformada por Erick y Cristina se encontraba en su casa preparando lo que llevarían para pasar un día de campamento, además festejarían su tercer aniversario de noviazgo en medio de la naturaleza. Luego de terminar el desayuno, Erick le comunicó a su novia que debía ir a la tienda por unos artículos que estaban faltando y que no demoraría, pero en realidad iría a buscar un regalo sorpresa, el anillo de compromiso.

Erick regresó a casa y Cristina no se encontraba, él extrañado la llamó por su celular, pero repicó en la cocina, enseguida pensó que estaría donde la vecina y no demoraría. Aprovecho para ver de nuevo el anillo y ensayar como le pediría matrimonio. Al cabo de una hora, todo lo que necesitarían para pasar el día estaba en el auto, Erick se había encargado de ello; sin embargo, Cristina no había regresado, por lo que su novio decidió ir a tocar la puerta de la vecina.

— Hola Andrea, buenos días ¿De casualidad Cristina está aquí? —Dijo Erick—

— Hola Erick, no, no está. No la he visto hoy. ¿Ocurre algo? ¿Discutieron? —Respondió Andrea—

— No, todo está bien, bueno, eso espero. Nos estábamos preparando para ir a pasar el día al Lago Rojo, entonces me di cuenta de que faltaban algunos productos y fui a comprarlos. Al regresar, Cristina no estaba. Ha pasado una hora y pensé que estaría aquí. Su celular lo dejó en la cocina. — Explicó Erick—.

— Qué extraño Erick, ella no acostumbra a salir sin su celular. Ahora estoy preocupada. —Respondió Andrea—.

— Voy a casa a esperar que regrese, si no iré a la policía, aunque deseo que no sea necesario. —Dijo Erick—

— Está bien Erick, me avisas cualquier novedad. —Respondió Andrea—

Erick regresó a casa y los pensamientos negativos invadieron su mente. Empezó a revisar y todo se encontraba como siempre, nada fuera de lugar. Aunque notó un detalle, las llaves de la casa que usaba Cristina seguían en su lugar, entonces — ¿Cómo pudo salir sin llevarse las llaves y el celular? —Se preguntó Erick—

Después de dos horas, Erick no resistió más y acudió a la policía, aunque sabía cuál sería la respuesta. -Debes esperar 48 horas para formular la denuncia como persona desaparecida-informó el oficial de guardia- Al salir de allí, condujo por las calles aledañas a la casa y los lugares cercanos que frecuentaban, a ver si encontraba a Cristina. Preguntó en las tiendas donde solían adquirir los productos si habían visto a su novia y las respuestas fueron negativas. Retornó a su casa y el celular de Cristina tenía mensajes de su hermana y su madre para saludar. Erick vio prudente informar a sus familiares que Cristina llevaba 8 horas fuera de casa y no tenía noticias de ella.

La noche se hizo larga, Erick se mantuvo despierto esperando tener noticias. Al rato tocaron la puerta, era Andrea preguntando por su amiga. Unas horas más tarde, llegaron los padres y hermana de Cristina. Todos empezaron a desesperarse, habían pasado más de 24 horas desde la última vez que Erick vio a su novia. Decidieron acudir de nuevo a la policía y les permitieron formular la denuncia. De manera oficial, Cristina estaba desaparecida.

Con denuncia en mano recorrieron las calles, los padres de Cristina fueron hacia el norte y Erick, Andrea y la hermana de Cristina al sur del pueblo. Visitaron la iglesia, supermercados, farmacias, hospitales. Horas después la policía inició los interrogatorios y la primera persona en pasar fue Erick, luego Andrea y así con cada uno de los allegados a Cristina. Esa noche organizaron una vigilia frente a la casa de Erick y Cristina. A la mañana siguiente la prensa local estaba en el lugar, enseguida la noticia recorrió el estado. Cristina, una joven de 26 años residente del pueblo, se encontraba desaparecida.

Las vías del lugar se llenaron con fotos de Cristina, Erick estaba devastado, — Parece sincero, ellos tenían una buena relación. —eran los comentarios de los vecinos—. Ningún habitante sospechaba de Erick como responsable de la desaparición. A pesar de eso, la policía continuaba las averiguaciones en la casa de Erick y Cristina. Todas las pertenencias de la chica estaban allí, tomaron su celular y laptop como parte del procedimiento. Las cuentas bancarias no indicaban movimientos en los últimos días, aunque no disponían de gran cantidad de dinero. Las finanzas de la pareja las manejaba Erick.

Quince, treinta, cuarenta y cinco días pasaron desde a desaparición de Cristina y las indagaciones no arrojaban ningún sospechoso, era como si la tierra se la hubiese tragado. Erick y sus familiares no detenían la búsqueda.

Domingo de verano, el día inició con una misa en nombre de Cristina. Un año había transcurrido desde la última vez que Erick se dirigió al centro en busca del anillo de compromiso para Cristina y al regresar su vida cambiaría con la desaparición de la chica. Sus padres se negaban a darla por fallecida, la esperanza de hallar a su hija con vida continuaba.

Una llamada a la policía llevó a resolver el caso. La empleada de una tienda ubicada al otro extremo del país, aseguraba haber visto en repetidas oportunidades a Cristina en compañía de un hombre. Sin perder tiempo, los detectives toman un vuelo y llegaron a la ciudad. La empleada explicó que la pareja se había convertido en clientes frecuentes y aunque Cristina lucía algo cambiada, decía estar segura de que era la misma joven desaparecida un año atrás. Su caso había recorrió el país entero.

Los investigadores iniciaron sus labores, la última compra la habían realizado con tarjeta de crédito y lograron obtener información del titular, así como dirección de residencia, resultando estar ubicada a unos pocos kilómetros de la tienda. Al llegar a la casa, tocaron el timbre y Cristina fue quien les abrió la puerta. Luego de aceptar que era la misma chica declarada desaparecida desde hacía un año, confesó que se había escapado con quien realmente era el hombre de su vida y pensó que lo mejor era que la dieran por muerta para no tener que dar explicaciones, aunque ocasionada un daño irreparable a sus seres queridos.

In 2015, an event occurred that marked the lives of the inhabitants of the small town located near Red Lake. It was a summer morning and the couple Erick and Cristina were at home preparing what they would take to spend a day camping and celebrating their third wedding anniversary in the middle of nature. After finishing breakfast, Erick told his girlfriend that he had to go to the store to get some items that were missing and that he would not be late, but he would actually go to get a surprise gift, the engagement ring.

Erick returned home and Cristina was not at home, he called her on his cell phone, but it rang in the kitchen, he immediately thought she was at the neighbor's house and would not be late. He took the opportunity to look at the ring again and rehearse how he would ask her to marry him. After an hour, everything they would need for the day was in the car, Erick had taken care of it; however, Cristina had not returned, so her boyfriend decided to go and knock on the neighbor's door.

— Hello Andrea, good morning. Is Cristina here by any chance? —said Erick—.

— Hello Erick, no, she's not here. I haven't seen her today. Is something wrong? Did you have an argument? —Andrea answered—.

— No, everything is fine, well, I hope so. We were getting ready to go to Red Lake for the day, then I noticed that some products were missing and I went to buy them. When I came back, Cristina was not there. It's been an hour and I thought she would be here. She left her cell phone in the kitchen. — Erick explained—.

— How strange Erick, she doesn't usually go out without her cell phone. Now I'm worried. —Andrea answered—.

— I'm going home to wait for her to come back, otherwise I'll go to the police, although I hope it won't be necessary. —said Erick—.

— All right Erick, let me know if there is any news. —Responded Andrea—

Erick returned home and negative thoughts invaded his mind. He started to check and everything was as usual, nothing out of place. Although he noticed one detail, the house keys that Cristina used were still in their place, so — How could she leave without taking the keys and the cell phone? —Erick wondered—.

After two hours, Erick could not resist any longer and went to the police, although he knew what the answer would be. -You must wait 48 hours to file a missing person's report," said the officer on duty. When he left, he drove through the streets around the house and the nearby places they frequented, to see if he could find Cristina. He asked in the stores where they used to buy products if they had seen his girlfriend and the answers were negative. He returned home and Cristina's cell phone had messages from her sister and mother to say hello. Erick thought it prudent to inform his family that Cristina had been gone for 8 hours and he had not heard from her.

The night was long, Erick stayed awake waiting for news. After a while there was a knock on the door, it was Andrea asking for her friend. A few hours later, Cristina's parents and sister arrived. Everyone began to despair, it had been more than 24 hours since Erick had last seen his girlfriend. They decided to go to the police again and they were allowed to file a report. Cristina was officially missing.

With report in hand they walked the streets, Cristina's parents went north and Erick, Andrea and Cristina's sister went south of town. They visited the church, supermarkets, pharmacies, hospitals. Hours later the police began the interrogations and the first person to pass was Erick, then Andrea and so on with each one of Cristina's relatives. That night they organized a vigil in front of Erick and Cristina's house. The next morning the local press was on the scene, and the news immediately spread throughout the state. Cristina, a 26-year-old resident of the town, was missing.

The local roads were filled with photos of Cristina, Erick was devastated, — It seems sincere, they had a good relationship —were the comments of the neighbors—. No resident suspected Erick of being responsible for the disappearance. In spite of that, the police continued the investigations at Erick and Cristina's house. All the girl's belongings were there, they took her cell phone and laptop as part of the procedure. The bank accounts showed no movements in the last few days, although they did not have a large amount of money. The couple's finances were managed by Erick.

Fifteen, thirty, forty-five days passed since Cristina's disappearance and the inquiries did not yield any suspects, it was as if the earth had swallowed her up. Erick and his family did not stop the search.

Summer Sunday, the day began with a mass in Cristina's name. A year had passed since the last time Erick had gone downtown in search of the engagement ring for Cristina and when he returned his life would change with the girl's disappearance. Her parents refused to give her up for dead, the hope of finding their daughter alive continued.

A call to the police led to solving the case. The employee of a store located at the other end of the country claimed to have seen Cristina repeatedly in the company of a man. Without wasting any time, the detectives took a flight and arrived in the city. The employee explained that the couple had become frequent customers and although Cristina looked somewhat changed, she said she was sure she was the same young woman who had disappeared a year earlier. Her case had been all over the country.

The investigators began their work, the last purchase had been made with a credit card and they were able to obtain the cardholder's information, as well as the address, which turned out to be located a few kilometers from the store. When they arrived at the house, they rang the doorbell and Cristina was the one who opened the door. After accepting that she was the same girl who had been missing for a year, she confessed that she had run away with the man who was really the man of her life and thought it would be best to leave her for dead so as not to have to give explanations, even though she had caused irreparable damage to her loved ones.