The son of a missing Spanish businessman has traveled to Greece to press for the search to continue, as authorities enter a second week looking for Juan José Mutilba Obregón, 66, who disappeared after falling overboard from his sailboat on August 18.
Mr. Mutilba, from Burgos, Spain, was sailing from Syracuse, Sicily, toward Greece with his wife, Carmen, when he slipped on fish blood while cleaning a tuna he had just caught and fell into the sea.
According to Spanish media reports citing the family, Carmen tried to react but could not stop the boat and had no phone signal to call for help; the vessel continued drifting away from where he fell.
She managed to reach a family friend three days later after regaining signal, triggering a rescue response from Spanish, Italian and Greek authorities.
Greek forces later located the boat roughly 18 nautical miles off Pylos and towed it to port, but Mr. Mutilba has not been found.
According to Spanish reports and his son, Sergio Mutilba, Mr. Mutilba built a long career in technology and business, working roughly 14 years as a systems technician and programmer at D'ors Informática before founding Mutrobe S.L., a corporate water distribution company he ran for years before handing it to Sergio and a business partner.
He retired in 2021 and, according to his son, devoted much of his time since to sailing, touring the Mediterranean with Carmen and holding formal sailing certifications alongside her.
The family has requested assistance from the Spanish embassy in Rome, as Italian authorities lead the ongoing search and rescue operation.