This fisherman who suffers from memory loss has been found by his family 19 years after he disappeared in the Pacific Ocean in a shipwreck – only to be found almost two decades later on Facebook.
According to local media, former fisherman Angel Ramirez Lopez was found by one of his cousins as he was living homeless in the city of Chimbote in the Santa Province in the Ancash Region in northwestern Peru.
Reports said that his family thought he has died in the sea in 2000 after the ship he was working on as a fisherman sank off the shore of Talara, a city in the Piura Region in northwestern Peru.
Ramirez Lopez was reportedly found when his cousin Milena Ramirez recognised him in some Facebook pictures that people had taken from him and posted onto the social media platform to ask for help as he was homeless.
His cousin told local media: “They went fishing and never came back, it has brought joy to the family and friends, it is a miracle of God, it surprised us, it was totally unexpected.”
She added: “He doesn’t remember many things, he remembers that he saved his life during the shipwreck by swimming, and a foreign ship took him and exploited him. They mistreated him, then he doesn’t remember anything else, nor how he got here.”
Reports state the fisherman was taken to a police station with his cousin where officers took his fingerprints but he ran away shortly after.
The family also asked for a DNA exam to confirm the man is their relative.
Ramirez Lopez reportedly suffers memory loss and becomes disoriented easily. The family is reportedly looking for him now to help him and take him to therapy while they await the results of the DNA exam.
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Story By: Jonathan Macias, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
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