Eric Fernando Gutierrez Molina American Airlines Flight attendant disappears during layover in Colombia after going out to party amid concerns he was a victim of foul play, particularly form of drugging called scopolamine.
An American Airlines Flight attendant has disappeared during what was suppose to be a perfunctory day layover in Colombia over the weekend, only to not have been heard from since.
Eric Fernando Gutierrez Molina, 32, based out of Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas had arrived in Medellín late Saturday night on a flight from Miami. He and fellow crew members were slated for a brief overnight stay before catching a return flight to the US early Sunday morning. Everyone returned to the airport except for Molina. No one has been able to make contact with the missing man since the crew’s arrival in South America.
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AA flight attendant goes out to party only to fail to return to hotel
According to investigators, Gutierrez Molina went out with two coworkers—a man and a woman—and later left with the female coworker and several unknown individuals to go to another location. He never made it back to the hotel.
Authorities said Molina was last seen in Medellín’s La América after leaving to party elsewhere.
The mystery deepened after a close friend, Sharom Gil, told Telemedellín that Molina had allegedly been invited to go out and party — and was later found disoriented and taken to a medical center.
Exactly when that occurred — and how he later disappeared again — remains unknown.
Investigators are also expressing concern that Molina may have been a victim of scopolamine, a powerful drug sometimes referred to as “devil’s breath,” which has been linked to robberies and assaults praying on tourists.
The last trace of the flight attendant was a message sent in the early hours of the morning sharing his location at an Airbnb in the El Poblado neighborhood, about 12 miles from Medellín’s José María Córdova International Airport.
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Friends and coworkers have since filed missing persons reports in both Dallas and Medellín as concern grows for the missing flight attendant’s whereabouts and wellbeing.
AA has also also notified the US embassy in Colombia.
In a statement to NBC 5, American Airlines said: ‘We are actively engaged with local law enforcement officials in their investigation and doing all we can to support our team member’s family during this time.’
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants stated it was ‘supporting all efforts to help locate our missing colleague in Colombia.’
Arturo Fontes, who spent nearly three decades handling missing persons investigations and later worked extensively in South America, said individuals are sometimes located alive but in a confused or vulnerable state.
‘What they’re going to do normally is go to the last location he’s been to, whether it’s a bar or a restaurant,’ Fontes said. ‘And then they’re going to track maybe the cameras and try to locate where the last place he went. If he had a cellphone, the first thing they will look at is the telephone to see what his last location was.’
In April 2025, the U.S. State Department warned Americans to ‘reconsider travel’ to Colombia ‘due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest, and kidnapping.’ The travel advisory remains in effect.
