Facundo Astudillo Castro (23 August 1997 – c. 15 August 2020) was an Argentine citizen who went missing on 30 April 2020 while hitchhiking from Pedro Luro to Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires Province, to visit his ex-girlfriend during strict COVID-19 lockdown measures. He lacked the circulation permit required at the time. At around 13:00 he called his mother and told her, "Mom, you have no idea where I am, you'll never see me again." That same day, two Mayor Buratovich policemen intercepted him for a lockdown violation and photographed him with his hands against a police vehicle — his last known image. Witnesses later reported seeing him at a checkpoint in Teniente Origone at approximately 15:30, allegedly being told to get into a police pickup truck, though a police officer separately claimed to have intercepted and released him roughly 26 kilometres further along Route 3.
His family characterized the case as a forced disappearance involving the Buenos Aires Provincial Police, a position echoed by human rights activist Estela de Carlotto. Fellow activist Nora Cortiñas called for the resignation of provincial Security Minister Sergio Berni, who dismissed the demand as irresponsible. The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances urged Argentina to conduct a thorough and expedited investigation, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued a precautionary measure. President Alberto Fernández publicly stated the need to determine what happened to Facundo and that any responsible party would face consequences.
A formal missing-persons report was filed on 5 July 2020, and the investigation was escalated over subsequent weeks: the Buenos Aires provincial police were removed from the probe under suspicion, federal forces including the Federal Police, Naval Prefecture, and National Gendarmerie conducted large-scale ground and air searches, and forensic examinations of police vehicles found blood-like stains. Cellphone and logbook records were seized amid concerns about tampering. Family representatives also reported threats and an unauthorized raid connected to the case.
Astudillo Castro's remains were found on 15 August 2020 in an advanced state of decomposition between General Daniel Cerri and Villarino Viejo. An autopsy conducted by the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team at the former ESMA site in Buenos Aires, involving 15 experts over 10 hours, determined the cause of death was drowning and classified the manner of death as unnatural, but could not determine whether it resulted from homicide, suicide, or accident. A family-appointed independent forensic expert, Virginia Creimer, disputed aspects of the official autopsy, and diatom analysis indicated the drowning did not occur where the body was found. Four Buenos Aires provincial policemen have been identified as suspects due to inconsistencies in their statements, including two officers who arrested Astudillo Castro and later deleted messaging app data. As of the most recent reporting reflected here, prosecutors stated there was insufficient evidence to jail the policemen despite family requests for arrests.
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