Missing Person Report — Hodei Egiluz Diaz, Missing from Antwerp, Belgium; Body Found After Unsolved Disappearance
ANTWERP, BELGIUM — The case of Hodei Egiluz Diaz, a Spanish man who went missing in Antwerp, Belgium, has been one of Europe’s longest-running missing-person investigations. After more than two years of extensive search efforts across international borders, his body was confirmed to be found in a boat-related location on February 11, 2016 — ending more than 850 days of uncertainty for his family, friends, and supporters. (RTVE)
Background: Disappearance on October 19, 2013
Hodei Egiluz Diaz, a 23-year-old computer engineer from Galdakao, Vizcaya, Spain, disappeared in the early hours of October 19, 2013, in the port city of Antwerp, Belgium. He had moved to Antwerp earlier that year to pursue work after completing professional placements and employment with a local technology firm. (RTVE)
On the night of his disappearance, Hodei had gone out with friends in the city’s historic centre. Reports indicate that after socialising, he separated from his companions around 04:30 AM and was last seen near a central street close to the Escalda (Scheldt) River — a busy waterway that has long been a focus of the investigation. (El País)
That morning, when he failed to return home, friends and family raised the alarm. Despite repeated efforts — including extensive searches by police, examination of CCTV footage, and mobilisation of volunteers — Hodei’s whereabouts remained unknown for months. (Orain)
Initial Investigation and Search Efforts
The disappearance initiated a multi-agency effort involving Belgian law enforcement, Spanish authorities, and European investigative cooperation mechanisms. Early investigative actions included:
- Police searches throughout Antwerp, including areas close to the river and port;
- CCTV analysis in key city areas where Egiluz was believed to have last been seen;
- Interviews with acquaintances and individuals who were with him the night he vanished;
- Public appeals and community alerts involving Spanish and Belgian media;
- Family-led outreach campaigns calling for information and cooperation. (RTVE)
The circumstances of Egiluz’s disappearance were complicated by reports that he may have been assaulted twice on the night he vanished, though no evidence directly tied those robberies to his disappearance. Police cautioned that confirmed connections between those incidents and his disappearance could not be established during the initial stages of the investigation. (RTVE)
Developments in Investigative Case
Over the months and years that followed, Egiluz’s family continued to advocate for answers. Spanish and Belgian officials periodically reaffirmed commitments to the case, and in 2014 the Spanish government expressed formal support for efforts to locate him alive. (Orain)
Despite these efforts, traditional search methods yielded no definitive breakthroughs. In the absence of confirmed sightings or verified information about his movements after leaving the centre of Antwerp, the case remained unresolved for an extended period. Automobiles, bank records, mobile phone activity, and other common investigatory leads provided insufficient evidence to close the missing-person inquiry. (RTVE)
Discovery of the Body — February 11, 2016
After nearly two years of sustained missing-person efforts, independent search operations in Antwerp recovered a deceased individual’s body on February 11, 2016, in a section of the Escalda (Scheldt) River close to Kattendijkdok, a moored dock area. (RTVE)
Authorities initially lacked sufficient information to confirm identity; the body had to be analysed via DNA testing in order to provide absolute certainty. Subsequent laboratory confirmation verified that the recovered remains were indeed those of Hodei Egiluz Diaz — ending a prolonged period of uncertainty but prompting new questions about the events that led to his death. (RTVE)
Family Response
Upon confirmation of the identification through DNA analysis, Egiluz’s parents — Pablo Egiluz and Koro Díaz — publicly expressed their “immense pain and sorrow” while also urging authorities to continue investigating the circumstances that ultimately led to their son’s death. They underscored that their hope for a living return never subsided, even as the years passed. (RTVE)
Associates of the family echoed calls for a detailed reconstruction of the events that preceded Egiluz’s disappearance and the precise reason his body entered the river. These appeals included formal requests to the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Antwerp and law-enforcement partners to pursue clarity around unanswered aspects of the case. (RTVE)
Community and Institutional Recognition
The death of Hodei Egiluz also drew attention from civic institutions and local communities. In his hometown of Galdakao, Spain, officials organised tributes and moments of remembrance in recognition of the long period of hope and public concern. Antwerp residents and civic leaders also held gatherings to honour his memory and reflect on the impact of the case on local perceptions of public safety and cross-border cooperation. (Knack)
Unresolved Questions and Continuing Interest
Although the DNA confirmation of Hodei Egiluz Diaz’s death provided closure regarding his fate, key aspects of the case remain unresolved. The exact manner and timing of his death have not been fully disclosed by law enforcement, and family and supporters continue to seek further detail as part of historical record and justice efforts.
This missing-person report reflects the known facts surrounding the disappearance and death of Hodei Egiluz Diaz based on confirmed information from reputable international reporting sources. It does not include speculation, hearsay, or uncorroborated claims.
As of the latest public disclosures, no new judicial conclusions about the precise circumstances of what led to the accident and his body being in the water have been definitively established.
