Mathieu Martin is he still alive? More than three years after the disappearance in Argentine of this young globetrotter from Toulouse, new elements revive the hopes of the family.

A man sentenced by the Argentinian courts

However, on the side of the Argentine justice, the case is folded. One of the Cuevas brothers, arrested near the place where Mathieu had disappeared, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for the murder of the young man, at the end of 2020. A sentence that has just been confirmed on appeal. But a scenario that Mathieu’s family never believed.

“We received an email this week confirming the sentence”, explains Perrine Martin, sister of Mathieu. “We suspected: from the start, we know that the Argentine justice wants to close the file.” A file that is permanently closed in the country: Mathieu’s family should soon receive a death certificate. Even though the young man’s body has never been found.

Reasons to hope

And yet… Mathieu’s family has had reason to hope in recent months. In particular following the rebroadcasting of a television program devoted to the disappearance of Mathieu Martin, in February 2021. A program that caught the eye of a citizen of Paraguay, living in France since many years.

The man called the production of the show, claiming to have hitchhiked Mathieu at the Paraguay in October 2018. That is three months later, the presumed date of the disappearance of the young globetrotter, who has not given any news since August of the same year.

“He left his contact details at the production and on a was able to contact him”, explains Perrine. “For him, there is no doubt: he hitchhiked Mathieu, had dinner with him and six of his friends who all recognized Mathieu in the photos ”.

Preview in Uruguay?

At the request of the Martin family, the man went to give a statement to the gendarmerie. “The case has been transferred to the Paris prosecutor’s office. They tell us that they carried out checks on the spot and that nothing came of it. But they did not question the six people who say they have dinner with Mathieu… ”

A dead end therefore. But another sign of hope came this time from the‘Uruguay, when the family was contacted by Claudie, a woman who claim to have seen Mathieu in a town located on the coast, Punta Negra, around July 20, 2021.

“She told us about a young man who called himself Mat, who looked confused and bewildered. She tried to get in touch with him …”

Further identity check

Mathieu’s family then contacted Emmanuel Macron’s advisor who supports them on this file, the embassy of France Fr Uruguay so that the young “Mat” in question is checked. “They told us that the young man’s name was Mathias and that he was from Argentina. But we have doubts about the conformity of his identity papers … “

Clinging to this slim hope, Mathieu’s family want a more extensive identity check carried out on this young man: “We would like his photo to be taken, his fingerprints taken … It bothers us to annoy this young man, but either we would really like to be sure that it is not Mathieu, for move on to another chosen one, ”explains Perrine. “The problem is that a new ambassador was appointed in September in Uruguay, and suddenly the file is on stand-by”.

Voluntary disappearance? Amnesia?

While waiting to confirm that it is or not the Toulouse globetrotter, how then to explain his silence for more than three years? Voluntary disappearance? Amnesia?

We never believed in voluntary disappearance: he talks about us and his nephew to the people who hitchhiked him just before his disappearance. Someone who wants to cut ties would not talk about his family! But he may have had a problem, taken a blow to the head for example, lost his memory … It’s plausible and so much could have happened in three years …

While waiting for the authorities to accede to the family’s requests, Claudia, the informant instead ofUruguay, is going to go this weekend with a friend of Mathieu to one of the villages where this famous “Mat” was seen recently, to try to find him. “If it is Mathieu, his friend will recognize him strongly, in particular thanks to his tattoos. And they take pictures and send them to us ”.

Practical information :
The association Together to find Mathieu will hold its general assembly on Friday 1^uh October 2021, at the village hall of Aussonne (Haute-Garonne), near Toulouse.

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