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Este artigo apresenta um dos casos policiais mais famosos do Brasil, ocorrido em 1966. O caso foi investigado exaustivamente à época, mas permanece sem solução até hoje. As informações aqui apresentadas são resultado de minha própria pesquisa. As imagens são creditadas sempre que possível, e as fontes utilizadas estão disponíveis ao final. Quaisquer erros são de minha responsabilidade. O artigo está dividido em três partes: O Evento, apresentando a cronologia do caso; A Investigação, detalhando o trabalho de investigação da polícia; e Opinião, com as minhas reflexões.

Aviso: ao final você encontra links para dezenas de artigos de jornais e revistas da época, que serviram de base para este artigo. Entretanto, é comum encontrar relatos conflitantes sobre um mesmo fato e alguns artigos confundem nomes e locais. Às vezes, um autor comete um erro simples em um artigo e este erro é perpetuado ao longo dos anos, fazendo com que as pessoas acreditem que aquilo é realmente verdade.

Este artigo está em constante manutenção, à medida que matérias novas são encontradas, escaneadas, transcritas e revisadas. Há também uma seção de perguntas frequentes, que será expandida sempre que necessário. Caso tenha alguma sugestão ou correção, deixe um comentário.

(English version of this article)

O Evento

Os amigos Miguel José Viana (34) e Manuel Pereira da Cruz (32) moram em Campos dos Goytacazes, no Rio de Janeiro. Eles possuem uma pequena oficina de conserto de TVs em casa. Miguel é casado com Elsa Gomes Viana e Manuel é casado com Neli da Cruz. Ambos fizeram cursos de eletrônica em São Paulo. Miguel também concluiu um curso por correspondência em eletrônica pela National Schools, Los Angeles, Estados Unidos, em 1951 [JB5]. Ele também tinha contatos com outras escolas técnicas nos EUA, como o Hollywood Radio and Television Institute, também da Califórnia. Os dois são bem conceituados em Campos, especialmente por sua experiência em eletrônica e em reparo de TVs.

12 de Maio* de 1966

(* alguns artigos mencionam a data 13 de Maio, mas como dois artigos do dia 13 descrevem o fato, a explosão provavelmente ocorreu no dia anterior. Alguns artigos também mencionam incorretamente que a explosão ocorreu em Junho)

Miguel, Manuel e seu amigo Élcio Correia Gomes participam de um experimento na praia de Atafona, famoso ponto turístico em São João da Barra, próximo a Campos. Às 21h, uma enorme explosão produz uma bola de fogo que ilumina o céu. A explosão foi ouvida a 10 quilômetros de distância. Testemunhas também dizem ter sentido o chão tremer, e algumas casas próximas sofreram pequenos danos. Uma sessão de cinema é interrompida devido ao pânico. O boato na época era de que um “disco voador” havia caído no mar. Um morador local diz que viu um navio bem iluminado ao longe e, em seguida, o navio havia desaparecido. A explosão chama a atenção da Marinha, que inicia uma investigação [FS2].

O investigador Válter Fernandes, da delegacia de polícia de São João da Barra, também ouve a explosão e sente o prédio tremer. Ele sai para investigar. Na praia, próximo ao farol, nota um cheiro forte de enxofre vindo de uma marca na areia, com 35 centímetros de largura e 25 centímetros de profundidade [FS1, CM1], parecendo marcas de pneus grandes. Após colher alguns depoimentos, ele relata o fato aos seus superiores.

Algum tempo antes da explosão, Miguel havia contatado um operador de rádio amador clandestino, Evaristo Fidélis de Morais, que supostamente possuía um potente transmissor de rádio [JB6], a cerca de 300 metros da praia de Atafona.

Élcio costumava ajudar Miguel e Manuel na oficina e recebia ensinamentos de eletrônica do primeiro.

Junho de 1966

Um artefato desconhecido explode no quintal da casa de Manuel. A foto abaixo mostra Sebastião Pereira da Cruz, pai de Manuel, perto do local da explosão, ao lado de restos de metal retorcido e fios.

16 de Agosto de 1966

Manuel acorda sua esposa Neli no meio da noite, dizendo que na manhã seguinte ele e Miguel viajarão para São Paulo, a fim de comprar um carro usado e peças para a oficina. Suas palavras foram [MM1]:

Precisamos, eu e o Miguel, de um carro para melhor atender aos fregueses. Vamos comprá-lo em São Paulo.

Eles embrulham em um pacote de papel uma quantia considerável de dinheiro: Cr$ 2.300.000. Outras fontes mencionam quantias diferentes: algumas dizem que eram 4 milhões, 5 milhões ou até 6 milhões. Manuel também coloca duas toalhas em outro pacote. Alguns amigos, sabendo da viagem para São Paulo, encomendam algumas coisas de lá.

17 de Agosto de 1966, 9:00h

Aluísio Batista Azevedo, um amigo de Miguel e Manuel, leva-os de carro para a rodoviária. Lá a dupla se encontra com Élcio, antes de embarcar em um ônibus da Auto Viação Santo Antônio. Eles compraram passagens para os assentos 25 e 26. O destino, porém, não era São Paulo, mas Niterói, no estado do Rio.

17 de agosto de 1966, 14:00h

Os dois chegam a Niterói sob chuva. Não sabemos se alguém estava esperando por eles na rodoviária.

Na seção de meteorologia dos jornais da época, o tempo era dado como instável, com ventos fracos, temperatura máxima de 23,8º C. Era lua nova (para ser mais exato, uma lua crescente de apenas 2.3%). O pôr do sol seria às 17:35h.

17 de Agosto de 1966, poucos minutos após a chegada

Miguel e Manuel foram a uma loja de componentes eletrônicos (“Fluscop”, na Travessa Alberto Vítor, número 13) e conversaram com Hernani Teixeira de Carvalho Filho, o dono. Hernani já os havia encontrado quatro dias antes em Campos. Naquela ocasião, Manuel mostrara a Hernani um anúncio de um gerador de frequência AM/FM avaliado em mais de 1 milhão de Cruzeiros. Na Fluscop, pedem alguns componentes da Philips, mas a loja não os tem em estoque. Hernani achou o pedido um pouco estranho, pois Miguel e Manuel são técnicos experientes e deveriam saber que esses componentes da Philips não costumam ser encontrados em Niterói. Ao saírem, Miguel e Manuel convidam Hernani para ir com eles a São Paulo para tentarem encontrar os componentes lá, mas Hernani recusa a oferta. Duas outras pessoas testemunham essa conversa na loja: um funcionário e um taxista.

Abaixo, um anúncio da Fluscop em um jornal da época, e uma foto de Hernani curtindo a vida social do Rio de Janeiro. A Fluscop é muito bem conceituada no ramo da eletrônica, expandindo seus negócios por volta de 1965-1966.

17 de Agosto de 1966, 14:45h

Miguel e Manuel vão a um armarinho (“Casa Brasília”, na Rua Coronel Gomes Machado, número 69) e compram duas capas de chuva por Cr$ 9.400 cada, sendo atendidos pela vendedora Dalva. Os dois demonstram estar com pressa e, embora esteja chovendo, não vestem as capas de chuva ao saírem da loja. Mais tarde, a polícia faria a observação de que, segundo depoimentos, ambos os homens pareciam calmos na Fluscop mas, na Casa Brasília, demonstravam nervosismo, o que leva à especulação de que Miguel e Manuel possam ter se encontrado com alguém entre estes locais.

17 de Agosto de 1966, 15:15h

Miguel e Manuel vão a um bar (“Bar e Mercearia São Jorge”, na Avenida Marquês do Paraná, número 172) perto do Morro do Vintém. Pedem uma garrafa de água mineral Magnesiana “bem gelada” e são atendidos por Maria de Lourdes Sá Relvas, filha de Miguel de Sá Relvas, dono do bar. Apesar da pressa, pedem e esperam o recibo para poderem devolver a casco mais tarde e receber um reembolso (Cr$ 200). Saem do bar e seguem para a Rua Andrade Pinto, que termina na base do Morro do Vintém.

17 de Agosto de 1966, alguns minutos depois das 15:15h

Eles chegam ao final da Rua Andrade Pinto e pegam uma das trilhas existentes para o morro. Jornais da época afirmam que existem oito trilhas diferentes, mas não se sabe qual delas eles tomaram.

17 de Agosto de 1966, provavelmente por volta das 16:30h

Miguel e Manuel chegam ao topo do morro. Não se sabe se chegaram sozinhos ou se alguém os esperava lá em cima.

Acima, um possível trajeto de Miguel e Manuel da rodoviária até a base do Morro do Vintém, em amarelo, e depois até o topo do morro, em vermelho. A localização da trilha e da clareira são apenas estimativas. O caminho verde leva à SEPE (“Sociedade de Estudos e Pesquisas Espíritas”), um famoso centro espírita em Niterói. A polícia especulou na época que Miguel e Manuel poderiam ter parado nesse local para encontrar alguém e/ou receber instruções. O ponto FEERJ (Federação Espírita do Rio de Janeiro) é outro famoso centro espírita no caminho, mas também não há evidências concretas de que eles tenham ido até lá. Distâncias e tempos estimados de caminhada:

• Da rodoviária até a Fluscop: 1300 metros, 17 minutos.
• Da Fluscop até a Casa Brasília: 280 metros, 4 minutos.
• Da Casa Brasília até o Bar São Jorge: 850 metros, 11 minutos.
• Do Bar São Jorge até o início da trilha (final da Rua Andrade Pinto): 1000 metros, 16 minutos.
• Do início da trilha até a clareira: 70 minutos [JB2] em condições favoráveis.

Abaixo, uma colagem das fotos que ilustram a matéria da Revista UFO número 87. De acordo com a reportagem, a seta vermelha indica o local aproximado da clareira onde os corpos foram encontrados. As fotos foram tiradas de algum ponto da Rua Andrade Pinto. A construção no alto do morro à esquerda é a estação repetidora do Morro da Boa Vista.

Abaixo, uma visão aproximada do mesmo local, obtida no Google Earth. A perspectiva não é exatamente a mesma, mas próxima o suficiente. O ponto identificado como “Clareira” é o mesmo que aparece no mapa do centro de Niterói mostrado anteriormente.

Acima, um “Edital de Convocação” publicado em um jornal local de Niterói, onde a SEPE convoca seus membros para uma reunião em sua sede, localizada na Rua Visconde de Itaboraí, número 265, e um recorte anunciando uma “Solenidade Espírita” realizada na sede da FEERJ, localizada na Rua Coronel Machado, número 140. Ambos os endereços ficam no trajeto que Miguel e Manuel teriam percorrido em Niterói, como mostra o mapa acima. Hoje, a FEERJ se transformou no IEBM (Instituto Espírita Bezerra de Menezes), mas ainda está localizada no mesmo endereço.

17 de Agosto de 1966, por volta das 19:00h

Gracinda Barbosa Coutinho estava dirigindo com seus três filhos pela Alameda São Boaventura, perto da região do Morro do Vintém, quando avistaram algumas luzes no céu. Gracinda parou o carro e os quatro saíram para observar as luzes por 4 minutos. Gracinda descreveu o que viu como um objeto oval, de cor laranja brilhante, rodeado por um anel de fogo que emitia raios de luz azul em várias direções, movendo-se para cima e para baixo acima do Morro do Vintém. Gracinda voltou para casa e contou a Paulo Roberto, seu marido, sobre as luzes. Paulo foi até o local, mas as luzes haviam desaparecido. Eles decidiram não contar a ninguém sobre o avistamento naquele momento.

18 de Agosto de 1966, manhã

Enquanto caçava preás e pássaros no alto do Morro do Vintém, um menino chamado Paulo Cordeiro Azevedo dos Santos vê dois homens deitados no chão. Sem saber se estavam dormindo ou mortos, ele corre assustado e vai até a casa de Antônio Guerra de Castro, um patrulheiro que mora nas proximidades, para contar o ocorrido. Antônio não dá muita atenção ao menino e não faz nada a respeito.

20 de Agosto de 1966, tarde

Outro menino, Jorge da Costa Alves, está no alto do Morro do Vintém tentando pegar uma pipa presa no topo de uma árvore quando também vê os corpos. No final da tarde, ao voltar para casa, Jorge liga para a delegacia e relata o ocorrido. Como já estava ficando tarde e também devido ao mau tempo, Oscar Nunes, o policial que atendeu a ligação, decidiu não subir o morro naquele dia.

21 de Agosto de 1966, manhã

Policiais, bombeiros, repórteres e voluntários sobem o Morro do Vintém para resgatar os corpos. Devido ao mau tempo e ao terreno difícil, levam mais de duas horas para chegar lá. No local, uma clareira de cerca de 10 metros quadrados no topo do morro, encontram os corpos de Miguel e Manuel, vestidos com ternos idênticos e capas de chuva. Os corpos são facilmente identificados porque ambos estavam com seus documentos de identidade. Há sinais de sangue na boca e no nariz dos mortos. Os corpos estão deitados de costas sobre uma “esteira” feita de folhas de pindoba (um tipo de palmeira). Há também traços de sangue em algumas das folhas [JB2]. Folhas de pindoba são resistentes e só podem ser cortadas com uma faca, mas nenhum objeto cortante foi encontrado no local. A polícia encontrou os seguintes itens na clareira:

• Uma garrafa de água mineral, quase vazia;
• Copos improvisados feitos de papel alumínio;
• Um pacote com duas toalhas;
• Uma aliança de casamento presa a óculos de leitura, dentro do paletó de Miguel;
• Um relógio de pulso guardado no bolso da calça de Miguel;
• Dinheiro (Cr$ 157.000 escondidos em um saco plástico dentro da calça de Miguel e Cr$ 4.000 dentro do paletó de Manuel);
• Um lenço dobrado, com as iniciais A.M.S. bordadas [JB2, JB9];
• O vale do casco da água mineral;
• Fósforos e cigarros dentro do paletó de Miguel;
• Duas passagens de ônibus não utilizadas de Niterói para Campos (apenas um artigo de jornal menciona este item [CM2]);
• Pedaços quadrados de papel celofane impregnados com alguma substância [JB3];
• Um jornal de 17 de agosto [JB1];
• Duas máscaras ao lado dos corpos. As máscaras, feitas de forma rudimentar, têm o formato de óculos de sol, mas são feitas de chumbo puro e não possuem orifícios para os olhos;
• Um bilhete de papel escrito à mão com algumas equações relacionadas a eletrônica;
• Um bilhete de papel escrito à mão com letras e números em uma espécie de código;
• Um bilhete de papel escrito à mão com instruções, encontrado no bolso de Miguel;
• Um bilhete de papel escrito à mão com algumas receitas de remédios;
• Um bilhete de papel sujo com a palavra: banzai.

Um dos bilhetes contém as seguintes instruções:

16:30 Hs. está local determinado.
18:30 Hs. ingerir capsúla após efeito
proteger metais aguardar sinal máscara

Além de conter alguns erros de português (“está” no lugar de “estar”, e “capsúla” no lugar de “cápsula”), as instruções não têm pontuação, portanto o significado é ambíguo: a segunda linha poderia ser lida como “Ingerir as cápsulas após o efeito” ou “Ingerir as cápsulas. Após o efeito, …”. A terceira linha poderia ser lida como “Proteger os metais. Aguardar o sinal. (Usar) máscara”, mas também como “Proteger os metais. Aguardar o sinal (da) máscara”. O fato de a aliança e o relógio terem sido encontrados dentro das roupas de Miguel pode estar relacionado à instrução de “proteger metais”. Outro bilhete dizia:

Domingo: 1 cápsula após a refeição
Segunda-feira: 1 cápsula pela manhã, em jejum
Terça-feira: 1 cápsula após a refeição
Quarta-feira: 1 cápsula ao deitar

17 de agosto de 1966 foi uma quarta-feira. Portanto, a instrução “1 cápsula ao deitar” faz sentido neste contexto, já que o outro bilhete os instruía a ingerir uma cápsula quando estivessem deitados na clareira. Se for esse o caso, a preparação teria começado no domingo, 14 de Agosto.

Um terceiro bilhete dizia: “Compre um rolo de linha de 500 metros”. Não há uma imagem nítida deste bilhete, mas ele é mencionado na mesma fonte (Revista Manchete de 10 de setembro de 1966). Mais tarde, descobriu-se que era um pedido do pai de Miguel. Havia também uma folha de papel azul prateado com equações da Lei de Ohm.

A polícia inicia uma investigação, sob o comando do delegado José Venâncio Bittencourt. Os corpos são levados para o Instituto Médico Legal, que está movimentado naquele dia. Hilton Magalhães, um investigador importante da polícia, havia sido assassinado [OF4] naquela manhã e seu corpo foi levado para o mesmo instituto, provavelmente recebendo prioridade. Contrariando as regras, um auxiliar do legista cuida de Miguel e Manuel [YT1] e realiza ele mesmo a remoção dos órgãos internos, em preparação para a autópsia. Segundo consta, não foram encontrados sinais de violência ou ferimentos nos corpos.

22 de Agosto de 1966

O irmão de Miguel, Herval Viana, vai ao Instituto Médico Legal de Niterói para buscar os corpos.

24 de Agosto de 1966

Miguel e Manuel são sepultados lado a lado no cemitério do Caju, em Campos, na quadra X, nas sepulturas de número 77.234 e 77.235, respectivamente. Mário Dias, repórter que cobria o caso, dirige-se ao Instituto Médico Legal em Niterói e descobre que os órgãos de Miguel e Manuel foram simplesmente jogados fora, sem que fossem realizados os exames adequados. Ao que tudo indica, os órgãos foram deixados em uma prateleira por vários dias e deterioraram-se a ponto de se tornarem imprestáveis para qualquer tipo de exame. Além disso, o IML não possuía todos os reagentes necessários para realizar os testes.

Quando o caso de Miguel e Manuel vira notícia, Gracinda e seu marido informam a polícia sobre o avistamento das luzes acima do Morro do Vintém. Outras pessoas, após lerem o relato de Gracinda, ligam para a polícia contando histórias semelhantes.

Em Niterói, a polícia interroga Carlos Macário de Vasconcelos e Luiza Sales de Vasconcelos, um casal que morava em uma casa a 200 metros do local onde os homens foram encontrados mortos. O casal explica que não são os donos do local, mas que supervisionam uma obra de reforma para Laércio da Silva Dias, o proprietário. A polícia encontra uma grande quantidade de imagens e estátuas de santos na casa. Carlos testemunha que não tem nenhuma ligação com as práticas do espiritismo.

A polícia também retorna ao Morro do Vintém para fazer alguns esboços da área. Encontram um pequeno poste de cimento no chão, com cerca de 30 centímetros de altura. Acredita-se que esse poste possa ter sido usado como ponto de referência para um encontro no local.

25 de Agosto de 1966

Após examinar as máscaras de chumbo junto com alguns policiais e jornalistas, o delegado José Venâncio Bittencourt tem uma crise alérgica, que lhe causa manchas vermelhas por todo o corpo.

26 de Agosto de 1966

Como o primeiro laudo de autópsia não identificou a causa da morte, os investigadores solicitaram a outro especialista, Dr. Alberto Farah, que revisasse o laudo e emitisse seu parecer. Posteriormente, o Dr. Farah informa a Venâncio que a causa da morte permanece desconhecida.

27 de Agosto de 1966

A Polícia Federal é acionada e inicia investigações em quatro estados: Guanabara, Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo e São Paulo. Os serviços secretos do Exército, da Marinha e da Força Aérea também investigam o caso, buscando apurar se o suposto experimento no morro tem alguma relação com a explosão ocorrida meses antes na praia de Atafona e se o incidente poderia representar algum risco à segurança nacional [JB5, JB10].

José Venâncio Bittencourt viaja a Campos para investigar a vida de Miguel e Manuel. Élcio é preso e levado a Niterói para interrogatório.

Quando questionado, Élcio deu essa explicação [MM1]:

Sempre fui amigo dos dois. D. Elza pode testemunhar a respeito. Miguel, seu marido, era íntimo meu. Quanto a Manuel, sabíamos que atravessava um mau momento, não financeira, mas moralmente falando, e procurávamos trazê-lo de volta ao bom caminho. Como kardecista crente, procurei colocá-lo em contacto com os bons espíritos, e foi com essa intenção que o levei a algumas sessões no Centro Espírita. É só. Quando me despedi dêles, na rodoviária, estava certo de que iriam mesmo a São Paulo. A partir daquele dia, nada mais sei.

Observação: quando o texto de uma matéria antiga for reproduzido, como no trecho acima, optou-se pela grafia do Português da época, como aparece no original. Por isso está escrito “contacto” e “dêles”.

31 de Agosto de 1966

Em Campos, investigadores revistam a casa de Evaristo Fidélis de Morais, que foi contatado por Miguel antes da explosão na praia de Atafona. Encontram a antena, mas o transmissor já havia sido vendido. São João da Barra não possui radioamadores registrados; porém, a Marinha interceptou algumas transmissões entre os prefixos CKJ21, CKJ22 e CKJ23 na área dois dias antes da explosão em Atafona [JB5]. Nenhum desses prefixos tinha registro.

Sem o conhecimento de Élcio, um advogado entra com um pedido de habeas corpus para libertá-lo [JB6], e a polícia cumpre a ordem.

1º de Setembro de 1966

José Venâncio Bittencourt é promovido a outro cargo na polícia e deixa o caso. José Silva é nomeado para assumir o cargo de delegado em uma data futura. Enquanto isso, o caso é atribuído aos policiais Idovam Ferreira (que levou Élcio a Niterói para interrogatório) e Hélio Brasil.

2 de Setembro de 1966

Élcio apresenta um álibi para a tarde de 17 de Agosto. Ele mostra uma nota fiscal [JB7] de uma loja de peças de carro em Campos, a quase 280 quilômetros de Niterói, onde Miguel e Manuel morreram. Mais tarde naquele dia, na hora estimada das mortes, ele foi visto por vizinhos em frente à sua casa mexendo no seu carro.

3 de Setembro de 1966

José Venâncio Bittencourt diz que, embora não esteja mais diretamente envolvido no caso, ainda está interessado na investigação e pretende ir novamente a Campos. Ele discute com sua equipe se vale a pena solicitar uma exumação e uma nova análise dos corpos.

Setembro de 1966 (cerca de um mês após a liberação dos corpos)

Enquanto examina a loja de Miguel, Herval Viana descobre que um bilhete encontrado junto aos corpos fora recortado de um caderno que ele encontra lá.

Herval retorna ao Instituto Médico Legal de Niterói para obter as certidões de óbito, assinadas pelo Dr. Astor Pereira de Melo. Nas certidões consta que, devido ao avançado estado de decomposição, não é possível atestar a causa da morte. Descobre-se que o primeiro laudo de necropsia continha uma falha grave [YT1]: o nome do perito Sebastião Faillace foi rasurado e substituído por outro nome, Walmor Giani. Especula-se que Sebastião não concordou com o laudo e, por isso, solicitou a remoção de seu nome.

17 de Outubro de 1966

Herval vai a um cartório de registro civil em Niterói para registrar o óbito de Miguel. Segue cópia da página do registro oficial:

REGISTRO DE ÓBITO

Aos dezessete de Outubro de mil novecentos e sessenta e seis, nesta cidade de Niterói, capital do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, em cartório compareceu Herval Viana, mecânico, residente à rua Silva Pinto 46, no município de Campos, deste Estado, apresentando um atestado de óbito firmado pelo Dr. Astor Pereira de Melo declarou que em consequência de A necropsia não revelou elementos capazes de determinar a causa mortis em face do estado de decomposição avançado no dia provavelmente em 17 de agosto de 1966 horas encontrado na rua Gastão Gonçalves (morro) faleceu Miguel José Viana, do sexo masculino, de cor branca, estado civil casado, profissão _____ residente _____ com 32 anos de idade, filho de Amaro Miguel Viana e Izabel de Carvalho. O falecido sim deixou bens a inventariar, era casado com Elza Gomes Viana, havendo do casal quatro filhos menores. O sepultamento será feito no cemitério do Município de Campos, deste Estado. Nada mais declarou. Lido e achado conforme assina o declarante com o oficial do Registro Civil. Eu, Merides Leite de Castro, sub-oficial escrivão. E eu, Maria Margarette (…) de Carvalho, oficial substituta subscrevo e assino no impedimento (…) do oficial (…)
Herval Viana
Maria Margarette (…) de Carvalho

Em negrito estão as palavras fixas do formulário. As demais palavras foram escritas à mão. Algumas palavras, no final, estão ilegíveis. A Rua Gastão Gonçalves, mencionada na certidão, aproxima-se do Morro do Vintém pelo lado sul. Provavelmente foi declarada como o local da morte por ser a rua asfaltada mais próxima da clareira onde os corpos foram encontrados (daí o termo “morro” entre parênteses para enfatizar que o corpo foi encontrado no morro, e não na rua). A idade de Miguel também está incorretamente registrada como 32 anos. Outra informação, não encontrada em nenhum outro lugar, é que Miguel e Elza tiveram quatro filhos.

A Investigação

Élcio testemunha que, ao contrário do que foi dito, Miguel e Manuel foram os mentores da explosão em Atafona e que ele apenas aceitou o convite para assistir ao espetáculo. Em seu primeiro depoimento, disse que foram a Atafona no carro de Miguel. Mais tarde, mudou a história, dizendo que o carro de Miguel estava estragado e que foram no seu carro.

Valdir Cardoso, que trabalhava como antenista para Miguel e Manuel, afirma que Élcio mentiu sobre o experimento em Atafona [JB11]. Segundo Valdir, Élcio convidou os três (Miguel, Manuel e Valdir) para assistirem a algo sobrenatural em Atafona, mas não revelou muitos detalhes de antemão. Ele disse que a viagem de 40 quilômetros de Campos a Atafona naquela noite durou menos de uma hora. Disse que Élcio foi sozinho à praia e os três homens esperaram por 10 minutos. Então Élcio voltou correndo e todos viram uma enorme luz vermelho-púrpura descendo em direção à água. Élcio insistiu para que entrassem no carro e fossem embora dali, pois algo ruim estava para acontecer. Valdir se lembra de sentir um forte cheiro de enxofre no ar, mas disse que não se lembra de ter ouvido nenhuma explosão na hora.

Valdir também conta que Élcio era praticante de espiritismo e que dizia poder incorporar espíritos: às vezes ele recebia o “Dr. Paulo”, às vezes o “Dr. Samuel”. Élcio tinha grande influência sobre Miguel e Manuel (um fato curioso: um tempo atrás, Élcio pegou dinheiro emprestado com Miguel, mas não pagou porque, segundo ele, “uma sereia do rio levou meu dinheiro”). Tanto Miguel quanto Manuel frequentemente procuravam Élcio em busca de ajuda do mundo espiritual: Miguel era asmático e Manuel sofria de dores abdominais crônicas. Segundo Valdir, o “Dr. Samuel” sempre lhes dava bons conselhos. Os quatro amigos, Miguel, Manuel, Valdir e Élcio, costumavam se reunir na oficina para longas sessões espirituais. Miguel e Élcio eram os mais entusiasmados do grupo, enquanto Manuel, no início, se mostrava um pouco cético. Alguns dias antes do dia 17 de Agosto, Manuel teria dito [OC1]:

Vou assistir a uma experiência definitiva. Depois dela, eu digo se acredito ou não.

A polícia descobriu que Miguel e Manuel realizaram outros experimentos nas cidades de Macaé, Campos e Niterói (no estado do Rio de Janeiro), e em Mimoso do Sul, Alegre, Cachoeiro de Itapemirim e Colatina (no Espírito Santo). Os militares queriam saber se esses experimentos poderiam representar alguma ameaça à segurança nacional.

A esposa de Manuel, Neli, confirmou que ele participou do experimento na praia de Atafona. Também confirmou que as máscaras de chumbo tinham sido feitas por Miguel e Manuel no dia anterior à viagem para Niterói. Aparentemente, utilizaram um cano de chumbo como matéria-prima para as máscaras. Em um balde na casa de Manuel, a polícia encontrou pedaços de chumbo que correspondiam aos recortes das máscaras sobre o nariz. Na ocasião, Manuel explicou a Neli que precisavam das máscaras para “trabalho”. Na oficina, a polícia também encontrou outras máscaras de chumbo.

A polícia apurou que, na sexta-feira, 12 de Agosto, Fernando José, vizinho e amigo de Miguel e Manuel, presenciou um episódio semelhante. Fernando surpreendeu os amigos na oficina improvisada na casa de Manuel, martelando um cano de chumbo. Curioso, perguntou o que era eles estavam fazendo. A princípio, os dois técnicos permaneceram em silêncio. Mas, quando o vizinho insistiu, deram-lhe uma resposta intrigante [MM1]:

Estamos criando qualquer coisa que evitará o fim do mundo, em 1968, quando do grande ciclone que arrasará grande parte do nosso planêta.

E não disseram mais nada.

A nota com as instruções foi identificada como sendo de caligrafia de Miguel, mas acredita-se que os termos (como “ingerir cápsulas”) não façam parte de seu vocabulário cotidiano. Presume-se que alguém, como um médico, tenha ditado a nota para ele.

O Instituto de Engenharia do Exército afirma que as máscaras não continham nenhum material radioativo. A análise foi solicitada pela polícia devido à natureza desconhecida do experimento realizado por Miguel e Manuel.

A hipótese do pacto suicida é descartada logo de início, devido a vários fatores: ausência de motivo, desaparecimento de parte do dinheiro (teriam sido roubados?) e o vale da garrafa de água (por que pedir um vale se não pretendiam voltar para trocá-lo?).

Uma linha de investigação aponta para espionagem por meio de transmissões de rádio: eles eram técnicos em eletrônica com o conhecimento necessário pra tal, códigos foram encontrados com eles e o topo da colina era remoto e isolado, um local propício para transmissões de rádio.

Outra linha de investigação foca em contrabando. O jornal de 17 de Agosto encontrado no local trazia uma reportagem sobre um grupo de contrabandistas que fora parcialmente desmantelado. Cinco contrabandistas foram identificados, mas outros dois ainda estavam foragidos, segundo o jornal.

Em outra linha de investigação, Miguel e Manuel foram vítimas de uma armadilha elaborada. Eles foram a Niterói para visitar um centro espírita e alguém lá, ao descobrir que portavam uma grande quantia em dinheiro, armou uma cilada. Segundo essa teoria, eles foram enviados ao topo do Morro do Vintém em uma missão inventada, onde foram roubados e assassinados. Mas, como a polícia só chegou ao morro quatro dias após as mortes, é possível que alguém tenha encontrado os corpos antes e levado parte do dinheiro. Afinal, pelo menos dois jovens sabiam da existência dos corpos antes de 21 de Agosto.

Outra possibilidade é a de um experimento científico e/ou espiritual que deu errado.

A polícia estima o tempo de deslocamento da rodoviária até a Fluscop, de ônibus, de carro e a pé, e compara com os tempos que Miguel e Manuel supostamente levaram. Em qualquer cenário, há uma lacuna de cerca de 21 minutos que não pode ser explicada. A hipótese é que, antes de irem para a Fluscop, eles pararam em um local desconhecido para se encontrar com alguém. Um investigador notou a existência de um famoso centro espírita ao longo do caminho (identificado como SEPE no mapa acima) e especulou que eles teriam parado lá para receber as instruções finais para o experimento, mas nada foi comprovado conclusivamente.

A polícia ouviu o relato de uma mulher que, por volta das 17h do dia 17 de Agosto, viu um jipe ​​com cinco homens se aproximando da Rua Andrade Pinto [JB3]. Os homens estacionaram o carro e começaram a subir a ladeira. Esse relato foi feito à polícia por um homem chamado Raulino de Matos, que acrescentou que a mulher achou o fato um pouco estranho, pois já estava começando a escurecer. A polícia está procurando a mulher para colher seu depoimento oficial.

Segundo a investigação, um dos bilhetes contendo códigos secretos é, na verdade, algo mais prosaico: os números e letras são códigos para identificar válvulas usadas em televisores analógicos e outros aparelhos eletrônicos. De acordo com Élcio, foi ele quem pediu que trouxessem as válvulas e lhes passou os códigos. De fato, os três códigos mostrados na imagem do bilhete são códigos para válvulas eletrônicas: EY88 (produzida pela primeira vez em 1959), ECL82 (1956) e 12AU7 (1951).

Em 1966, a revista “Eletrônica Popular” era bastante conhecida entre os entusiastas de eletrônica no Brasil. Seus artigos apresentavam a teoria, projetos práticos e circuitos eletrônicos com esquemas. A imagem abaixo mostra duas edições de 1966, incluindo um projeto que utiliza a válvula identificada como 12AU7.

Ambas as famílias negam que o lenço encontrado na clareira pertença a Miguel ou Manuel. Na época, a polícia não conseguiu identificar nenhum conhecido, amigo ou da família, com as iniciais A.M.S.

Há uma contradição em relação ao relógio encontrado junto aos corpos. A família de Miguel afirma que o relógio dele ficou em sua casa, em Campos, mas a polícia diz ter encontrado um relógio dentro das roupas de Miguel. Além disso, a atendente do bar onde compraram água mineral disse que Miguel olhava constantemente para o relógio, parecendo estar com pressa.

Isabel, uma das irmãs de Miguel, tem o seguinte a dizer sobre o caso:

Eu sei, eu sei o que aconteceu. Muitas vêzes Miguel me falou a respeito de uma experiência muito importante que iria fazer. Nos últimos dias, como êle se mostrasse calado, a fisionomia preocupada, compreendi logo que chegara o momento. Depois, foi aquela viagem súbita, na companhia de Manuel? Porque? Não sei ainda bem o que aconteceu, mas sei que tudo está ligado às coisas aparentemente sem sentido de que êle costumava me falar.

O Sr. Amaro, pai de Miguel e também um praticante devoto do Espiritismo, lembra-se de uma conversa com o filho, na qual Miguel disse [MM1]:

Estou certo de que a Terra não é o único planêta habitado. Muitos outros planêtas também o são. Atualmente venho fazendo estudos a respeito e estou cada vez mais convicto de que as possibilidades de o homem chegar a um outro mundo habitado são muito maiores e mais fáceis do que se imagina.

Durante a investigação, um tal de José de Souza Arêas contou à polícia uma história curiosa: em 1962, um homem chamado Hermes Luiz Feitosa, também técnico de televisão, foi encontrado morto no topo do Morro do Cruzeiro, também em Niterói. O detalhe curioso: havia uma máscara de chumbo ao lado do corpo. Não há registros de que a polícia tenha conseguido obter informações concretas sobre essa pessoa. Não encontrei nenhuma notícia que documentasse essa história na época dos fatos, ou seja, em 1962.

Aparentemente, a história só veio à tona como um relato indireto em 1966, depois que o caso das máscaras de chumbo ganhou destaque na mídia. Provavelmente, a história começou a se espalhar após um artigo publicado na revista Manchete, em setembro de 1966, que citava esta declaração de José de Souza:

Em 1962, aqui mesmo em Niterói, aconteceu coisa parecida com a morte dos dois homens de Campos. Um técnico de televisão, um francês, apareceu morto no alto do Morro do Cruzeiro. E o senhor sabe o que foi que encontraram ao lado do seu corpo? Uma máscara de chumbo.

Na oficina de Miguel e Manuel, a polícia encontra um livro chamado “A Vida no Planeta Marte” repleto de anotações. No prefácio, Hercílio Maes, o autor do livro, afirma que o texto lhe foi ditado por uma entidade espiritual chamada “Ramatís”. Este livro explica que Marte é um planeta habitado e descreve em detalhes os vários aspectos da civilização marciana: família, educação, cultura, religião, entretenimento, tecnologia, indústria, transporte, governo, entre outros. Há um capítulo “Aeronaves, naves espaciais, discos voadores” que fala sobre a tecnologia das naves espaciais marcianas, e outro intitulado “Viagens interplanetárias”. O capítulo “Reencarnação e desencarnação” explica que o espírito de um ser humano que morre na Terra pode reencarnar como um marciano, mas os marcianos nativos conseguem distinguir se um indivíduo é “nativo” ou “estrangeiro”.

Eis o que o livro nos diz sobre os discos voadores marcianos:

PERGUNTA: Qual seria o aspecto exato que nós veríamos deparando com um desses
aparelhos a pouca distância?
RAMATIS: Dependeria, naturalmente, de qual planeta a que o aparelho pertencesse, pois já vos dissemos que existem grandes diferenças entre os mesmos, inclusive quanto ao sistema, embora todos eles só possam atingir o vosso mundo ou além, aproveitando a energia da lei de gravidade. O aparelho marciano, tipo comum, vos daria idéia de uma enorme calota, de relevos salientes no terço superior, circulada de escotilhas de vidro azulado, transparente. A sua cor usual é entre o laranja-rosa até o salmão e, às vezes, o puro turquesa. A sua aparência, quanto ao material, dar-vos-ia idéia de alumínio ou aço polido, pois a superfície é absolutamente lisa e macia, dando impressão de estar maravilhosamente encerada. Todo o aparelho é construído com a substância vítrea a que já nos referimos, resistente a mais de 6.000 graus de calor; e as vossas metralhadoras, por mais possantes, não produziriam quaisquer arranhões na sua couraça. Tais aparelhos, embora atinjam até 30 metros de altura por 60 metros de diâmetro, poderíeis movê-los de lado, até certa altura, pois não pousam definitivamente; eles flutuam a um ou dois metros, em perfeito equilíbrio no seu campo estático de gravidade, conforme faz o vosso beija-flor, essa jóia alada que, para sugar o néctar das flores, se mantém em vôo estático. O que mais destaca os “discos” são as auras de luz polarizada que vibram em torno. A sua poderosa superfície radioativa é capaz de desintegrar qualquer veículo ou aeronave terráquea; pois, desde que os acumuladores diferenciais sejam elevados à sua potencialidade máxima de irradiação magnética, todo e qualquer elemento do vosso mundo, que permanecesse a distância igual a três vezes o tamanho do aparelho, seria desintegrada instantaneamente.

A polícia descobriu que, em 15 de Agosto, dois dias antes das mortes, Miguel e Manuel viajaram na mesma linha de ônibus para Niterói [JB12]. Mas, durante uma parada em Macaé, Manuel passou mal e eles tiveram que retornar para Campos. Em 17 de Agosto, na mesma parada, Manuel voltou a se sentir mal, mas desta vez eles conseguiram embarcar e continuaram a viagem para Niterói.

Um laudo toxicológico dos corpos foi eventualmente liberado, mas é quase certo que foi forjado: os órgãos internos foram descartados antes que qualquer análise pudesse ser feita, como descobriu um repórter na época. Ao ser questionado por uma entrevistadora a respeito da veracidade do laudo, Idovam Ferreira afirmou que estava sob pressão para solucionar o caso [YT2]:

… é muito boa a pergunta, mas existe uma coisa chamada administração. Eu não tinha condições de lutar contra a administração. Mesmo porque eu não tinha como provar, em absoluto, isso.

Em seu relatório, Idovam afirma, nesta longa sentença, que [OF7]:

Tendo em vista as diligências efetuadas, em tôrno do caso, chegamos à conclusão de que a morte de ambos foi ocasionada quando em busca de experimentação para a comprovação da alma, ou em experiência de comunicações telepáticas, ou qualquer outra, dentre as inúmeras abrangidas pela Parapsicologia, através da busca de um estado de semi, ou de inconsciência total, ocasionada por envenenamento de substâncias (cápsulas), de composição química não identificada no exame, e cujo veículo para ingestão foi a água mineral adquirida momentos antes, num bar das proximidades.

Durante a investigação, Idovam solicitou a ajuda de um renomado médico carioca, o Professor Sílvio Lago. Em resposta, o Dr. Lago preparou um relatório de dez páginas explicando detalhadamente a ciência da parapsicologia e sua doutrina [OF3], afirmando que:

… minha hipótese, Sr. Delegado, não dista muito da que emitiu V. Sa., pois tenho para mim que, de um modo ou de outro, Miguel e Manuel pagaram com a vida a sua inclinação para o sobrenatural e o maravilhoso, lado constitutivo e marcante na humanidade como no interior de todos nós. Resta saber se êles assumirão diante do Criador, sozinhos, a responsabilidade pela ocorrência, ou se a justiça terrena terá meios de castigar culpados, se existem …

A Justiça, no entanto, não concordou com o resultado da investigação. Edmo Lutterbach, o promotor responsável pelo caso, não ficou satisfeito com as explicações sobrenaturais do relatório. Em março de 1967, ele devolve o caso à polícia, e uma nova investigação é iniciada, desta vez sob o comando do detetive de homicídios Saulo Soares de Souza. A primeira decisão foi solicitar a exumação dos corpos de Miguel e Manuel.

Em 25 de Agosto de 1967, a exumação é realizada. Sebastião Faillace (cujo nome fora apagado do primeiro relatório) é designado para a tarefa. Ele constata que os corpos haviam recebido um excesso de formol, o que impossibilita a realização de uma análise toxicológica adequada. A causa da morte permanece desconhecida.

Em Setembro de 1967, a Secretaria de Segurança do Estado do Rio de Janeiro solicita auxílio do exterior para a resolução do caso. Espera-se que um programa do Departamento de Estado dos EUA, denominado Ponto IV, contribua para as investigações [JB14]. O Ponto IV foi um programa de assistência técnica para países em desenvolvimento anunciado pelos EUA em 1949.

No início de 1968, ossos e tecidos coletados durante a exumação foram enviados ao Instituto de Energia Atômica de São Paulo, como última tentativa de identificar a causa da morte. O resultado da análise aparentemente foi extraviado, o que atrasou a investigação por algumas semanas. Quando o pacote finalmente chegou a Niterói, a Polícia Técnica ficou perplexa, pois não conseguia entender os resultados. Mais tarde, com a ajuda de técnicos do Instituto de Energia Atômica, foi possível determinar que todos os níveis dos elementos medidos (arsênio, mercúrio, bário e tálio) estavam normais.

Em Setembro de 1968, um fotógrafo chamado Ari Pereira capturou a imagem de um objeto voador não identificado sobre o Morro do Vintém [DN1]. O objeto permaneceu imóvel por alguns minutos e depois desapareceu em alta velocidade. Ari explicou que o objeto emitia uma luz prateada tão intensa que ele precisou usar um filtro amarelo em sua câmera [FS5]. Muitas outras pessoas em Niterói também afirmaram ter visto o mesmo objeto.

Em Janeiro de 1969, uma mulher contou à polícia que sabia quem era o responsável pelas mortes de Miguel e Manuel [OJ1]. Ela foi mantida sob custódia enquanto a polícia procurava o suspeito. A história provavelmente foi inventada e a investigação não levou a lugar nenhum.

Em Fevereiro de 1969, um homem chamado Hamilton Dezani (criminoso confesso condenado a 50 anos por outros crimes) admitiu a um juiz que sabia o que havia acontecido com Miguel e Manuel. Hamilton afirma que, em agosto de 1966, foi convidado por três bandidos para participar de um “trabalho”. Todos se encontraram em um centro espírita em Niterói, onde Miguel e Manuel, as vítimas, já os aguardavam. Hamilton levou os três homens e as duas vítimas para dar uma volta de carro pela cidade até que um dos homens pediu que ele parasse. Hamilton esperou no carro e, alguns minutos depois, os três homens retornaram sem Miguel e Manuel. Eles disseram a Hamilton que haviam forçado as vítimas a ingerir veneno e que haviam ficado com o dinheiro delas. Hamilton foi levado a Niterói para interrogatório, mas, devido ao número de contradições em seu relato, a polícia rapidamente concluiu que ele estava mentindo. A verdadeira intenção de Hamilton era deixar a prisão de São Paulo e tentar fugir enquanto estivesse em Niterói. Ele foi enviado de volta a São Paulo e processado por falso testemunho.

Em Maio de 1969, o promotor Edmo Lutterbach foi transferido para uma nova jurisdição. O novo promotor pede o arquivamento do caso, embora a investigação policial ainda esteja em andamento, o que é bastante incomum.

Em Junho de 1969, a polícia revela uma pista que havia passado despercebida desde o início do caso: um pequeno bilhete de papel encontrado ao lado dos corpos com apenas uma palavra escrita: banzai [JB8]. Essa palavra é uma forma de saudação em japonês e, segundo a polícia, havia um culto de origem japonesa localizado em Niterói que era conhecido por usar essa palavra frequentemente em suas reuniões. Jornais da época noticiaram que alguns membros desse culto foram interrogados pela polícia, mas, como era de se esperar, essa pista se mostrou um beco sem saída. Ao investigar o passado de Miguel, os detetives fizeram uma descoberta curiosa. Em uma escola primária que Miguel frequentou em Campos, encontraram um desenho [OF5] feito por ele contendo duas suásticas nazistas, um emblema da foice e do martelo comunista e uma espiral adornada com símbolos cabalísticos sobre a qual estava escrita a palavra “banzai”. Aparentemente, os detetives não relacionaram este desenho com o bilhete encontrado na clareira.

Em Julho de 1969, Valdir Soares, um criminoso notório preso no Rio, disse aos detetives que conhecia os assassinos de Miguel e Manuel [OF1]. Valdir afirmou que dois presos em São Paulo, um homem conhecido como Espanhol e outro apelidado de Homem-Aranha, eram os autores do crime. Devido ao recente fiasco envolvendo Hamilton Dezani, ocorrido poucos meses antes, a polícia manteve-se discreta o e não divulgou muitas informações ao público. Mas, mais uma vez, a investigação não revelou nada.

Em Outubro de 1969, Alexandre Monteiro Selva Netto, um fugitivo conhecido como “Professor Ramayana” ou “Conde Ramayana”, vira notícia: ele agora é suspeito no caso das Máscaras de Chumbo [OF2] (ele já era procurado por muitos outros crimes na época, tendo sido preso e fugido da prisão pelo menos duas vezes). Ramayana já morou perto do Morro do Vintém e costumava receber convidados que participavam de diversos experimentos de parapsicologia no local. As iniciais no lenço encontrado com os corpos são A.M.S., o que corresponde ao seu nome. A polícia localizou Ramayana em Recife. Lá, ele fingia ser professor de parapsicologia, tendo inclusive recebido convites para dar palestras em uma universidade local. A história diz que Ramayana escapou do cerco policial escondendo-se dentro de uma geladeira e, em seguida, fugiu para outro estado. Devido a esse novo fato, a polícia estava considerando reabrir o caso das Máscaras de Chumbo, mas somente após (e se) Ramayana fosse preso. A história se torna confusa a partir deste ponto, pois há relatos de que Ramayana foi preso em 1971 no Rio de Janeiro, mas também em Fortaleza em abril do mesmo ano. Depois, há relatos de que a polícia organizou sua transferência de Fortaleza para Niterói. Ele teria dito que qualquer tentativa de prendê-lo seria inútil, pois usaria seus poderes “mágicos” para hipnotizar os agentes para que o deixassem escapar. E, de fato, em 1972, ele conseguiu escapar da prisão antes da transferência. Mas, no ano seguinte, seus poderes mágicos aparentemente falharam, já que ele foi capturado em abril de 1973 e, desta vez, levado para Niterói. Infelizmente, seis anos após as mortes de Miguel e Manuel, não há menção de que a polícia tenha cumprido a promessa de reabrir o caso das Máscaras de Chumbo após sua prisão.

Em Abril de 1980, Jacques Vallée, um pesquisador que trabalhou para a NASA e um dos maiores especialistas no fenômeno OVNI, veio ao Brasil para investigar o caso. Ele subiu o Morro do Vintém e conversou com policiais e repórteres que cobriram o caso em 1966. Ele observou que na clareira onde os corpos foram encontrados a grama não havia crescido desde então. Os resultados de suas investigações se tornaram o prólogo de seu livro “Confrontos: A Busca de um Cientista por Contato Alienígena“.

Vallée mencionaria brevemente o caso novamente em seu livro “Ciência Proibida – Diários 1957-1969”, de cerca de 1992, onde relata a história de como o caso chegou ao seu conhecimento. Uma anotação de 28 de Setembro de 1966 dizia:

Um jornal francês que alguém havia deixado no avião que nos trouxe para casa continha uma reportagem muito curiosa: dois jovens técnicos em eletrônica morreram no alto de uma colina perto do Rio de Janeiro enquanto esperavam por um disco voador que alegavam ter contatado. O caso está ficando conhecido como “O Mistério da Máscara de Chumbo” porque os cadáveres tinham máscaras rudimentares sobre os olhos. O inspetor José Venâncio Bittencourt, um detetive veterano da polícia do Rio, foi citado dizendo que este é o mistério mais estranho de sua carreira.

Outra anotação de 30 de Outubro de 1966 dizia:

Também compilei um resumo do caso brasileiro da Máscara de Chumbo em Niterói, perto do Rio, onde dois homens que se sabia estarem envolvidos em uma tentativa de contatar discos voadores foram encontrados mortos em uma encosta sem nenhum sinal aparente de violência. Várias testemunhas relataram um estranho disco luminoso sobre o local na mesma noite em que eles morreram. Isso revela um enigma muito maior do que eu suspeitava quando li pela primeira vez uma notícia sobre o assunto em um jornal francês; A abordagem vai além de tudo o que o Projeto Livro Azul e a Comissão Condon estão investigando.

É evidente que sua abordagem do caso, desde o início, se concentra no fenômeno dos discos voadores, embora isso seja apenas um aspecto da história.

Em 1992, Mário Dias, um dos primeiros repórteres a chegar à clareira no topo do Morro do Vintém em 21 de Agosto de 1966, dedicou um capítulo de seu livro “Malditos Repórteres de Polícia” ao caso das Máscaras de Chumbo. Nesse capítulo, ele menciona brevemente sua crença de que Miguel e Manuel foram envenenados com cicuta, uma planta altamente venenosa.

Opinião

A seguir deixo algumas reflexões sobre aspectos diversos deste caso.

“Eu quero acreditar”

É evidente que Miguel e Manuel estavam envolvidos com as práticas do Espiritismo. Também é evidente que pensavam que iriam participar de algum experimento incomum em Niterói, tendo recebido instruções de terceiros e se preparado com antecedência. Se eles acreditavam naquela história fantástica do livro de “Ramatís”, é possível que eles realmente achassem que iriam se comunicar com ou até mesmo contatar seres de outros planetas. No fim, essa ingenuidade foi o que os matou. Miguel e Manuel esperavam voltar para Campos após a experiência, mas algo não saiu como planejado.

Horário marcado

Se Miguel e Manuel planejavam usar a mesma Viação Santo Antônio para a viagem de volta, os horários de Niterói para Campos são 18h, 22h e 24h, como podemos ver na tabela de horários mostrada anteriormente. Sabemos que o horário das 18h está fora de questão, porque eles deveriam estar no topo do morro às 18:30h. O próximo horário disponível é 22h, o que significa que eles teriam que ficar em Niterói por várias horas após o “compromisso” no Morro do Vintém. Isso indica que eles esperavam apoio de alguém na cidade, pelo menos para providenciar um lugar para ficarem por algumas horas, afinal, eles não trouxeram bagagem para pernoitar. Também é interessante notar que o pôr do sol em 17 de Agosto em Niterói ocorreu às 17:35h. No horário marcado, às 18:30h, já estaria escuro no Morro do Vintém, aquela era uma noite sem lua e Miguel e Manuel não tinham uma lanterna. Após o término do experimento, supondo que tivessem sobrevivido, ambos teriam que descer um morro lamacento na escuridão total.

Um espaço vazio

Se assumirmos que os dois chegaram à Niterói por volta de 14:00h e que atingiram a clareira às 16:30h, e usando os tempos estimados de caminhada apresentados acima, podemos fazer alguns cálculos. O roteiro Rodoviária — Fluscop — Casa Brasília — Bar São Jorge — Base do morro seria percorrido em aproximadamente 48 minutos. Como estavam com pressa, vamos supor que permaneceram no máximo 4 minutos em cada um dos três estabelecimentos comerciais, tempo mais do que o suficiente para bater um papo com Hernani, comprar as capas de chuva e pedir a água mineral. O tempo gasto no centro da cidade antes de iniciar a subida seria então de 60 minutos. É mais difícil saber o tempo que levaram para chegar à clareira, mas um jornal da época [JB2] estima 70 minutos para a empreitada. Tempo total: 130 minutos, ou 2:10h. Ainda sobram cerca de 20 minutos, tempo esse que poderia ou não ser usado para visitar algum outro ponto no trajeto. Caso tenham chegado atrasados ao compromisso no alto do morro, teriam tido ainda mais tempo para esta visita extra. Alguns relatos não confirmados sugerem que Miguel e Manuel fizeram o último trecho de carona em um jipe. Se isso for verdade, o tempo extra para tal visita seria ainda maior.

Sucesso?

Há quem diga que Miguel e Manuel conseguiram fazer exatamente o que queriam: seus espíritos se libertaram de seus corpos e alcançaram o outro mundo, ou outra dimensão. Mas enquanto estavam lá, algo deu errado aqui na Terra. Alguém chegou à clareira e, sem saber o que estava acontecendo, moveu seus corpos, perturbando a cena e interrompendo o ritual. Por esse motivo, Miguel e Manuel não puderam retornar e permaneceram presos naquela dimensão. Seus corpos não duraram muito tempo sem suas almas e acabaram perecendo. É uma explicação incrível que, obviamente, é impossível de provar.

Vilão

Toda história policial tem um vilão e, neste caso, o papel pertence a Élcio, o amigo espírita. Acredito que ele sabia exatamente o que estava acontecendo. Ele pode não ter envolvimento direto nas mortes, mas foi sua influência sobre Miguel e Manuel que os levou ao experimento no alto daquele morro. Não acho que Élcio pensasse que eles morreriam, mas como foi o que aconteceu, ele optou por ser discreto e esconder informações da polícia.

Sem exame

O principal problema para os investigadores foi, sem dúvida, a falta de um exame toxicológico. Por causa disso, a causa da morte não pôde ser determinada e toda a investigação foi severamente prejudicada. Foi envenenamento? Em caso afirmativo, quanto tempo o veneno levou para agir? Ou teria sido uma combinação fatal de medicamentos? Uma dose excessiva talvez? Por um bom tempo, as pessoas acreditaram que um exame toxicológico havia sido realizado e os resultados foram todos negativos. Foi isso que levou as pessoas a acreditarem que, seja lá o que os tenha matado, não era deste mundo.

De outro mundo

E quanto ao OVNI ? O único problema é: Gracinda e o marido só relataram o avistamento do OVNI acima do Morro do Vintém depois que a história das mortes, com todos os seus detalhes, havia sido amplamente noticiada. Se fosse o contrário, ou seja, se primeiro Gracinda tivesse relatado o avistamento e no dia seguinte alguém encontrasse os corpos exatamente abaixo do ponto onde o OVNI estava pairando, seria muito mais fácil de acreditar na história. É assim que as pessoas funcionam. Nossas mentes tentam relacionar experiências passadas com eventos atuais. Talvez a luz no céu não estivesse exatamente acima do morro, talvez não parecesse um OVNI, talvez nem fosse a hora ou a data certas. Mas agora que notícias das mortes misteriosas estão em todos os meios de comunicação, é possível que as pessoas adaptem suas histórias para se encaixarem aos eventos.

Quanto vale Cr$ 2.300.000 afinal?

A moeda brasileira sofreu grandes alterações desde 1966. Para comparação, segue um recorte de jornal com as taxas de câmbio de algumas moedas estrangeiras em 17 de Agosto de 1966:

Um dólar americano equivalia a 2.200 cruzeiros na época dos fatos. A quantia que eles carregavam, portanto, era equivalente a US$ 1.045 em 1966. O vale da garrafa de água seria de US$ 0,09 e as capas de chuva custariam US$ 4,27 cada. A quantia encontrada junto aos corpos equivalia a apenas US$ 73. Miguel e Manuel disseram a amigos e parentes que usariam o dinheiro para comprar um carro usado, possivelmente um Fusca. Analisando jornais de 1966, encontramos dois anúncios desse tipo de carro:

O valor de entrada para um modelo de 1961 era de Cr$ 1.700.000, e para um modelo de 1964, de Cr$ 2.500.000. Portanto, a importância que carregavam era compatível com esses valores. Sem saber quanto Miguel e Manuel ganhavam na oficina, é difícil avaliar o esforço necessário para juntar essa quantia. Utilizando duas calculadoras online diferentes, uma do Departamento de Estatísticas do Trabalho dos EUA e outra da Calculadora de Inflação dos EUA, US$ 1.045 em agosto de 1966 equivalem a aproximadamente US$ 10.200 em moeda atual (Fevereiro de 2025). Podemos também ajustar a moeda brasileira pela inflação de 1966 até os dias de hoje e, em seguida, convertê-la para dólares. Pelos motivos já mencionados, esse processo é mais complexo, mas ainda possível. O Banco Central do Brasil disponibiliza uma calculadora online para este fim, embora o processo não seja simples. Utilizando uma conversão em múltiplas etapas, primeiro convertemos Cr$ 2.300.000 em Agosto de 1966 para NCz$ 5.032 em Junho de 1989, depois para R$ 62.012 em Fevereiro de 2025 e, finalmente, para US$ 10.825, o que resulta em um valor quase idêntico. De qualquer forma, estimar o valor relativo de diferentes moedas ao longo de várias décadas é sempre problemático, portanto, esses valores devem ser considerados estimativas aproximadas. É fato também que a inflação impacta diferentes tipos de bens de maneiras distintas: o valor necessário para comprar um carro usado em 1966 não é necessariamente equivalente ao valor necessário para comprar um modelo semelhante de carro hoje.

Em um artigo do jornal O Fluminense, há uma fotografia (de péssima qualidade) mostrando alguns dos itens recolhidos no local, entre eles uma nota de Cr$ 5.000, provavelmente recuperada de um dos corpos. Se o montante original de Cr$ 2.300.000 fosse dividido em notas de 5.000, eles estariam carregando 460 notas. Como havia outros valores de notas de Cruzeiro, é claro que a quantidade exata não pode ser determinada, mas isso nos dá uma estimativa de quantas notas eles teriam levado consigo para Niterói.

Brinquedos eletrônicos

O gerador de frequências que Manuel mostrou a Hernani, o dono da Fluscop, era provavelmente semelhante à configuração mostrada na imagem abaixo: um gerador de sinais FM-TV Simpson modelo 479 acoplado a um osciloscópio Simpson modelo 476. Este encontro entre Manuel e Hernani é descrito em um artigo de jornal [OF6]: “… ocasião em que o técnico lhe fez entrega de um recorte de revista onde aparecia o anúncio da Mesbla, sobre o aparelho gerador de sinais AM e FM com osciloscópio Simpson, e que tal aparelho estava orçado em mais de 1 milhão de Cruzeiros“.

No manual do osciloscópio modelo 476, a válvula 12AU7 aparece na lista de componentes, como mostra a figura abaixo. Talvez Miguel e Manuel estivessem tentando construir um osciloscópio caseiro com características semelhantes a este modelo.

Nada consta

Há alguns anos, enviei um pedido de acesso à informação à Marinha do Brasil, perguntando sobre a investigação do incidente na praia de Atafona em 1966. Algumas semanas depois, recebi a resposta: “Participo que não consta no Arquivo da Marinha nenhum documento sobre investigação da explosão na praia de Atafona em 1966”, o que não surpreende, já que manter registros de mais de 50 anos não é uma tarefa fácil.

A cena do crime

Algo que me intriga é a cena encontrada no topo do morro. Os corpos estavam deitados de costas, sobre um tapete de folhas de palmeira cortadas especificamente para esse fim. Provavelmente, eles se deitaram ali por conta própria e seguiram as instruções, ingerindo as cápsulas e colocando as máscaras. Teriam sido as mortes tão repentinas que eles não conseguiram se mover? Se fosse mesmo veneno, não teriam tentado se mexer ou se levantar nos seus últimos momentos? As cápsulas afetaram os dois homens exatamente ao mesmo tempo, de modo que um não pôde ajudar o outro? Se isso fazia parte de um plano elaborado para roubá-los e simular um experimento paranormal que deu errado, os criminosos não pensaram que um exame toxicológico revelaria o veneno? Como poderiam saber de antemão que o exame não seria realizado?

Uma pista

O detetive Saulo Soares de Souza desenvolveu a teoria de que as cápsulas continham curare, uma poderosa toxina que, em contato direto com a corrente sanguínea (por meio de um ferimento, por exemplo), causa paralisia muscular e, acima de certos níveis, morte por asfixia. Essa teoria, porém, nunca foi comprovada. Além disso, é sabido que o curare é inofensivo quando ingerido por via oral. O repórter Mário Dias entrevistou Saulo, então com 75 anos, em 2007. Nessa entrevista, Saulo afirmou que, apesar de aposentado, ainda se interessava pelo caso e que havia encontrado uma pista importante que poderia comprovar sua teoria de homicídio por envenenamento. Essa teoria seria detalhada em outro livro que Mário Dias estava escrevendo, desta vez dedicado exclusivamente ao caso das Máscaras de Chumbo, com a colaboração de Saulo. Saulo faleceu em 2018. Mário Dias faleceu em 2021, sem publicar seu novo livro.

O fim

É fato que, com o passar dos anos, a polícia perdeu o rumo das investigações. As pistas se esgotaram, muitos suspeitos foram apresentados, apenas para serem descartados rapidamente, e o caso mudou de mãos diversas vezes, até esfriar. Segundo o documentário Linha Direta, de 2004, um pedido para reabrir o caso não era mais possível, pois os arquivos não foram localizados no Judiciário. O material foi quase certamente destruído, como era comum em casos arquivados após um período de inatividade, geralmente de dez anos, o que é lamentável: havia cerca de 4000 páginas de relatórios policiais, depoimentos, resultados de diversos testes, fotografias, croquis, os bilhetes encontrados com Miguel e Manuel e, claro, as Máscaras de Chumbo.

Fontes

Estes são os recortes de jornal que utilizei como fontes.

• Correio da Manhã
• Diário de Notícias
• Luta Democrática
• Folha de São Paulo
• Jornal do Brasil
• Diário da Noite
• O Fluminense
• O Globo
• O Jornal
• Cidade de Santos

Além de jornais, utilizei também artigos das revistas:

Da esquerda para a direita:

• O Cruzeiro, 12 de Setembro de 1966: O Mistério dos Mortos Mascarados
• O Cruzeiro, 4 de Maio de 1968: O Mistério das Máscaras de Chumbo
• Manchete, 10 de Setembro de 1966, edição 751: O Enigma das Máscaras de Chumbo
• Manchete, 17 de Setembro de 1966, edição 752: Os 10 Mistérios do Morro do Vintém
• ufo, Maio de 2003: O Caso das Máscaras de Chumbo Revisado

Por último, também me baseei nestes documentários de TV:

• Linha Direta, março de 1990, da Globo (canto superior esquerdo). O primeiro episódio do programa abordou o caso das Máscaras de Chumbo.
• Linha Direta – Justiça, junho de 2004, da Globo (canto inferior esquerdo). Um episódio da segunda versão do Linha Direta, também abordando o caso das Máscaras de Chumbo.
• Inexplicável América Latina, 2023, do History Channel (canto superior direito), “O caso brasileiro mais misterioso das últimas 5 décadas”.
• Programa Casa da Gente, 2007 (partes um, dois e três), programa de TV local de Niterói apresentado por Mário Dias (canto inferior direito). Mário apresenta o caso, mostrando material de sua coleção pessoal e também entrevista o detetive Saulo.

To the best of our knowledge, the oldest surviving audiovisual documentary on the Lead Masks Case is a 1990 episode of the TV show “Linha Direta”, produced by Rede Globo. Several people recorded the episode on VHS at the time, and today it can be found on YouTube. During the 1970s and early 1980s, Mrs Elza, Miguel’s widow, and Mrs. Neli, Manuel’s widow, were invited to several popular TV shows of the era, and they had the opportunity to provide first-hand accounts of the story.

At that time, however, VHS was not available in Brazil. The first models arrived in 1982, and during the first couple of years, only a few select people had access to them. The only way to obtain those early shows was to physically search old archives, bring a compatible player capable of reading weird tape formats, and hope the recordings were not damaged beyond repair.

In the 2010s, the Brazilian government launched an online system called SIAN designed to provide access to the country’s documentary heritage and ensure citizens have full access to information. Although the exact number of searchable documents is unclear, it is estimated that millions of public administration documents, photographs, maps, immigration records, public TV programs, and thematic collections are available. Best of all, many of these documents have been digitized (A quick note: to access the system, users must register with the Federal Government’s integrated registry system, which means that spooks, errm, government employees, may have immediate access to your search history. Oh, well). Not expecting much, I entered the term “máscaras de chumbo” (lead masks) and received two matches in return. I am exploring researching other search terms and options.

The first match seems to be a report on several UFO sightings from the 1950s and 1960s. One excerpt reads (the writing is a bit awkward):

On September 11, 1968, the Public Prosecutor of Rio de Janeiro, João Abid, his wife, an employee of the State Treasury of Rio de Janeiro, along with a couple and other people, corroborated the testimony of Professor Hilton Ribeiro, from the Plínio Leite school, and the student couple Regina Lúcia de Oliveira and José Carlos, who saw a flying saucer on Sunday night on Itaipu beach in Niterói. The professor and the students were on the beach, contemplating the sea, when they came across the spaceship, fully illuminated and emitting jets of orange light and spinning on itself like a translucent spinning top, without touching the ground and only 2 meters above the beach. The couple, frightened by the TV series they had been watching called “The Invaders,” hurriedly left the place, later declaring that they were afraid to engage in any dialogue with the visitors, whose silhouettes they glimpsed through the luminous walls of the disc. The professor stated that the craft was the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, emitted colored lights, predominantly orange, remained stationary without touching the ground, and slowly rotated around its axis. The professor awaited the opportunity to contact the occupants of the craft, but it gained altitude and disappeared. The student couple said that the disc resembled the one described by a woman residing in (?) at the time of the disappearance of two radio technicians who were found dead, with lead masks over their eyes, on top of Urubú hill, while attempting to contact beings from another planet. The men were found dead, the cause of death unknown. On that occasion, the aforementioned woman and several other people saw a bright flash in the sky, and the object was described as a flying saucer.

Here, “Urubu Hill” appears to be another name for “Vintém Hill”. It is interesting to note the similarities and differences between the UFO in this account and the one in Gracinda’s story.

The second match is far more interesting. It is a master videotape from “TV Tupi” dated February, 1980, containing an episode of a popular TV show hosted by Flávio Cavalcanti, a well-known television personality of that era. To my surprise, in the “Digital files” section, there was an MP4 file available for download. After enduring an excruciatingly slow download to complete, I was finally able to see what it was all about.

Whoever attempted to digitize the tape made a complete mess. The color was lost, some parts lacked audio, portions between segments were truncated and missing, and the entire video suffered from severe synchronization issues. I am not sure if some of these problems were caused by the analog tape itself, but the end result is regrettable. A PDF document attached to this entry contained this information:

The tape begins with the program already in progress (Likely continuing from PGV.414. In that tape, the last theme is religious fanaticism, which is also the opening theme of this one).

Digitized at TV Record between 2015 and 2016. The quadruplex tapes were returned to the National Archives in November 2019, the hard drive was returned in January 2020. It left quarantine on February 19th. Verification, description, renaming, making the files available on the network (Main Source Environment) were completed in March 2020.

Date assigned by the digitized recording card. Original tape number at TV Tupi: SP 426. Tape number at the National Archives: quadruplex 89. Information on the case: “SP 426 – Flávio Cavalcanti – Part 3 – copy – 02/02/80”.

It appears that TV Record retrieved this tape, which belongs to TV Tupi, and attempted to digitize it in 2016. The MP4 file is a 1920×1080 video encoded in H.264 with audio encoded in AVC1. The total run time is 21:57, but the segment on the Lead Masks Case is just over 8 minutes, from 02:11 to 10:32. What follows is a partial transcription:

02:11 – Flávio, the host, presents the case (but unfortunately this section has no sound). The camera shows Manuel’s daughter (?), Miguel’s son, Astor Pereira de Melo (pathologist), Mrs. Neli (Manuel’s widow), Edmo Lutterbach (District Attorney), and Mrs. Elza (Miguel’s widow).
03:03 – recording is truncated. Edmo describes the case briefly. Flávio asks Edmo about a Detective Wilson Lousada receiving mysterious phone calls, with threats urging him to leave the Lead Masks Case. Edmo, without giving names, talks about one of the several suspects the police investigated at the time (possibly he is talking about Hamilton Dezani). recording is truncated
04:37 – recording is truncated. Edmo answers a question about the instruction note found with the bodies. He reads the transcription found in Manchete Magazine from September 1966, which unfortunately is not accurate. He explains that they had requested a graphological analysis and that one of the wives recognized the writing as belonging to one of the men (he was probably referring to Miguel and Elza).
05:39 – Flávio talks to Elza, but the first seconds have no sound. He then reads from Manchete the quote “we are creating something that will prevent the end of world…” and asks Elza if she knows anything about it. We can not listen to Elza’s response (no audio). Then he asks the same question to Neli, but sound is also missing, and the only thing we hear is “.. they did not explained it?” and “No, sir”.
He asks: “Mrs. Neli, did you witnessed Miguel and Manuel trying the lead masks at home?”. Her response was: “I did not saw that”. We do not hear the next question. recording is truncated.
06:48 – A narrator tells the story of Mrs. Gracinda spotting a UFO over Vintém Hill. Flávio starts a series of questions to the guests:

Question to Neli: “What do you think about that report (about the UFO)?”
Answer: “I don’t know how to reply to that”.
Question: “But what do you think had happened? Robbery, or what?”.
Answer: “I can’t answer that, it was all a mystery to me”.
Question: “Two lead masks beside the bodies, correct? The note was inside his pocket. And what about money, was there missing money?”
Answer:” Yes, there was missing money. At the time he brought Cr$ 2.300.000″.
Question: “And how much was found, how much of that money was returned to you?”
Answer: “They gave me back Cr$ 4,000.
Question to Elza: “How do you think your husband died? Murder…?”
Answer: “Mr. Flávio, there was no signs of struggle in the bodies. Nothing.”
Question: “When did you know about the deaths?”
Answer: “Some officers came to my house, but they did not disclose everything”.
Question: “Did they have any prior diseases?”
Answer: “No, they were healthy and happy. They went on a trip to buy TV parts, and never came back”.
Question to Edmo: “Mr. District Attorney, in your opinion, what do think about this case?”
Answer: “I relied on the toxicology analysis, but the cause of death was unknown”.
Question to Astor de Melo: “And what do you think?”
Answer: “Given the unknown cause, …”
Question: “But wasn’t there any clue, anything?”
Answer: “Nothing. No signs of violence”.
Closing remarks by Flávio: “Natural death? death by electronics? death by telepathy? atomic experience? flying saucers? and what a weird note! Take capsule at some date and, during the same time, a woman sees a flying saucer. It is a little weird. Espionage? Cardiac arrest was out of question, because, two at the same time? That was the mystery that lasts 13 years, challenging the police and forensic experts. Nobody knows. Or maybe only God knows.”

I admit I had been searching for that interview for quite some time, but now that I have watched it – well, at least the parts that were not muted or truncated – there is only so much you can expect from a eight-minute segment of a popular show from that period. It was 1980; Miguel and Manuel’s families had been struggling for 14 years with many questions, practically no answers, and almost certainly some financial hurdles. This was the only time I ever heard either Elza or Neli speak, however brief their participation was. There is a human side to this story that we must not forget. These are simple people who went through a lot. Elza died in 2002. She was 68.

January 13, 1996, around 8 a.m., Carlos de Souza was driving his red Fiorino along highway BR-381 near the city of Varginha, Brazil. He heard a clunky mechanical noise, similar to a failing vehicle motor. Fearing his own car was in trouble, he pulled over to check it. At that moment he saw a strange flying craft, hovering about 120 meters (390 feet) high, heading toward Três Corações, another nearby city. He followed the craft for about 20 km (12 miles) until it began to loose altitude and eventually crashed in a nearby field. Carlos found a dirt road leading to the approximate crash site and drove there.

Article: Researching the UFO crash at Varginha

This story was recounted by Carlos to ufologist Claudeir Covo on October 2, 1996. The events he describes occurred in January 1996 and became known as the Varginha Incident. Claudeir’s report first appeared in special edition number 17 of the Brazilian UFO magazine in March 1997, in an article titled “Researching the UFO Crash at Varginha”.

The metallic cylindrical ship was approximatelly 40 feet long and 16 feet in diameter, featuring at least four round windows on each side. The front section was damaged, with a long tear extending from the tip to the center. Carlos also stated, “The UFO began to fall at an angle of 30 degrees, and when it hit the ground, it was dragged into the forest until it disappeared among the trees“. Becasue of the choice of words – it hit the ground and was dragged – it is reasonable to conclude that Carlos witnessed the actual crash.

Despite numerous articles having been published about the incident, including reports of sightings of the ship and live aliens, this was the first time someone had come forward with information about a crash site. Unfortunately, many months had passed since the event, and when Carlos took the researchers to the site, no physical evidence of the crash was found. In this article, Carlos also describes what he saw when he arrived at the site:

According to Carlos, numerous debris of various sizes were scattered across a large field. The pieces resembled sheets of thin aluminum foil, as light as feathers. When he grabbed a sheet measuring 40 inches by 23 inches and crushed it in his hands, it unfolded and returned to its original shape (this part of the the narrative is taken directly from the story of the Roswell incident, by the way). There was no mention of creatures or any other discernible features, only a strong smell of ammonia and ether, reminiscent of rotten water. Carlos also reported seeing a helicopter, two military trucks, an ambulance, three cars, and 30 to 40 soldiers searching the area. The article suggests that the military was already present at the site when he arrived. Then, a soldier approached him, took the sheet from his hands, and ordered him to leave: “you saw nothing, get out of here“.

Very upset with the situation, Carlos returned to the road. Around 11 a.m., while stopping at a roadside restaurant, a man approached Carlos and asked him to step outside, saying he wanted to “chat”. At the parking lot, other men were waiting. These men claimed to have a complete file on Carlo’s life. He was threatened and ordered to keep quiet about the incident; otherwise, he would face serious consequences. Back at home, Carlos told his wife what had happened and tried to put the ordeal behind him. Months later, when a friend mentioned an article in Planeta magazine about the Varginha incident, Carlos decided to contact Claudeir Covo, the article’s author, and share his story. This is how Claudeir concluded his article:

Some points in his testimony reaffirm or even complement information we already possess that has not yet been disclosed. However, there are many discrepancies in certain details. Despite this, we assign 50% credibility to his statements. This fact may be relevant to the case, at least until proven otherwise.

It is interesting to compare the first written report presented here with others from the same period, or from years later. We will also review three video interviews conducted in 1996, 2018, and 2026.

Book: The Varginha Case

One of the first ufologists to investigate the Varginha incident, Ubirajara Rodrigues, a local resident of Varginha, published a book in 2000 titled “The Varginha Case”. In chapter 6 (“The Stealth Ship”), he recounts the story of Carlos Souza:

Most of the details match the original report, so I will not highlight them here. However, it is worth noting some important discrepancies. In this version, the reason Carlos stopped the car was “some soda drink had an infallible diuretic effect“. When he was outside relieving himself, Carlos saw the ship flying at 390 feet high. The time of the sighting, 8 a.m., also matches. He also describes the ship as having lateral windows and the same lateral fissure extending from the front to the center.

In this version, Carlos owned a small pest control company in São Paulo. We are told that Carlos did not see the ship crash or land, but had to find his way through dirt roads until he reached the site. The rest of the story is similar: apparently, the military were already at the site collecting the debris and had ordered him to leave and forget about it. The details about the encounter with unidentified men at the restaurant at 11 a.m. match the previous report.

There is also new information regarding the aftermath. On October 19, fourteen researchers visited the crash site and thoroughly searched the area, using metal detectors. Not a single piece was found. They also searched all nearby houses, farms, bars, and churches within a two-mile radius of the crash site, conducting multiple interviews with the local population. No one remembered seeing or hearing anything unusual in January of that year. The owner of the land also did not see anything.

The first recorded interview in 1996

Claudeir Covo recorded Carlos Souza on videotape in 1996 near the entrance to the dirt road where the incident occurred. This interview was later broadcast on a local TV station. In it, Carlos provides additional details:

It passed over me; it wasn’t full of little lights or colorful beacons, nothing like that. It was a metallic object. You could see it was very polished, with a very smooth surface, and it shone because of the daylight; the light hit it and reflected.

I arrived and was stopped by these military guys, you know, one was a tall, very strong black guy. He was in uniform, he was wearing dark gray pants, a light brown shirt and a little cap. He told me I couldn’t, so I turned back.

I turned around, returned, passed by that same spot at the second gas station, counting that other one back there onward. I stopped to eat because I was hungry, it must have been around 10:30 or 11 in the morning.

I went to the bathroom, and when I came back, the young man turned to me and said, “Look, you’re Mr. Carlos.” The young man knew my name, my parents’ names, he knew who I was and who I wasn’t, and he said, “Look, you haven’t seen anything, you don’t know anything.”

The ship was a bright, metallic object with no windows. When he arrived at the crash site, the military was already there. He met the M.I.B. at 11 a.m.

The interview in 2018

In 2018, Marco Leal, a Brazilian ufologist, interviewed Carlos Souza at his home. During the interview, Carlos provided additional details to the story, such as several military personnel wearing masks and suits scanning the field and searching for debris. However, some details differ from previous accounts.

I see a sheet of metal, I picked it up in my hand, about a size slightly smaller than a car steering wheel, and it caught my attention because it was very thin, it might be the kind of aluminum foil you use to cover chicken.

At that moment, about 10 or 15 minutes had passed at most, and I saw several military vehicles arriving from the other side.

A person ran towards me along with two armed soldiers, okay, not pointing their weapons at me, they were pointing them downwards, and he said: drop it, drop it, drop it!

I pulled over to the gas station and went to the bathroom. When I came back, I said, “I’m going to get a coffee,” because it was very early, around six in the morning, seven in the morning at the latest.

I was working, because at the time I had a small beverage distribution business.

The size of the metal sheet was described as “smaller than a steering wheel”, contrasting with “40 inches by 23 inches”. The military personnel were not already at the site, but arrived 10 to 15 minutes after Carlos got there. The encounter at the gas station occurred no later than 7 a.m., rather than around 11 a.m. Carlos stated that in 1996 he owned a small beverage distribution business. He also affirmed that the soldier did not point a gun at him.

The interview in 2026

In early 2026, Jesse Michels interviewed Carlos Souza. In this 80-minute interview, Carlos provides many additional details but, unfortunately, also alters some of them. Some of the relevant points are:

On that day I woke up. I left early. I think around 5, 5:15 in the morning, very early.

I saw… then I stopped, and then I stopped and looked ahead and I saw an object passing over the road.

And immediately, it couldn’t be more the 2 minutes later, coming toward my car was a military convoy.

An then that soldier arrived and started hitting me on the chest (with the rifle) … he took a step back, raised his gun, cocked it, and pointed it at my head, right here (at his forehead).

There is a river, called Rio Verde. And from the crash site to this river, there’s a distance of about 50 or 100 meters (160 to 320 feet).

There is a serious misconception here. The nearest river to the crash site is Rio do Peixe, a tributary of Rio Verde, located approximately 4,000 meters (2.4 miles) away in a straight line. Rio Verde itself is more than 9,000 meters (5.6 miles) from the crash site. Even if Carlos had confused the names, there is no river within 100 meters of the crash site. Carlos states that he saw the ship and then he stopped his car. He also claims that the military arrived almost immediately after he got there. He dramatically describes how a soldier pointed a gun directly at his forehead.

Conclusion

As we can see, there are numerous contradictions in his statements. The story evolved and changed over time; details were added or retracted, the timeline is inconsistent, and the list goes on. The fact that his initial statement surfaced nine months after the event does not help either. By then, the core aspects of the narrative were already common knowledge in Brazil. I encourage you to read the narratives and listen to the interviews so you can draw your own conclusions.

January 20, 2026, marks the 30th anniversary of the most prominent UFO case in Brazil, when one or more alien beings were allegedly captured by the military in the city of Varginha. This is the second article in the series, recounting the story of Valquíria (14 at the time), her sister Liliane (16), and their friend Kátia (22) – the three girls from Varginha who experienced a close encounter of the third kind.

On January 20, 1996, the three girls were working at a house located in the Jardim Andere neighborhood (marked “Home”, in blue), helping a family that was moving out of state. At around 3 p.m. on that Saturday, after finishing work, they went home to the nearby Santana neighborhood, initially taking the blue path. The shortest route to their destination required walking through a wooded area (red path). However, as they were about to descend the hill, a man standing by the street warned them that it would not be wise to take that route due to reports of a man harassing women walking that way. After considering their options, they decided to backtrack and head north toward an alternate access through a paved road (white path on the map). Since that neighborhood was underdeveloped at the time, they often cut through empty lots to shorten the walking distance. These routes were mapped based on Liliane and Valquíria’s explanations in a recent YouTube video. Please note that in the picture below, many of the surrounding houses did not yet exist in 1996.

In one of the lots, located on Dr. Benevenuto Braz Vieira Street, some graffiti on the walls caught Liliane’s attention. When she turned to look at it, she saw an unidentified creature crouching on the grass. She alerted the other two girls, who also spotted the creature, which looked back at them. The three girls described the creature in numerous interviews and testimonies:

His veins were all bulging … with long fingers … three fingers on one hand, a big foot – Katia

I remember perfectly the wide, red, super red eyes … three horns, I don’t know if they were horns … it wasn’t exactly a horn, they were bumps on the head … veins that ran from the neck to the arm – Liliane

He had some things on his body that shone, like oil … he was crouching, with his hands between his legs – Valquíria

Not understanding what they had experienced, the girls panicked and quickly ran out of there. Valquíria and Liliane arrived home in tears, trying to explain to their worried mother what they had seen (the two sisters later said they thought they had just seen the Devil). Luisa Helena, the mother, along with Kátia and a friend, returned to the empty lot, but the creature was gone by then. All they could see was crushed grass on the ground where the creature had supposedly stood and some footprints, accompanied by an unpleasant smell in the area.

In the military inquiry conducted in 1997, the official explanation for this strange enconter was stated as:

From an analysis of its content, it is clear that the entire story narrated in this book originates from and revolves around the sighting of an alleged extraterrestrial creature on January 20, 1996, in a vacant lot located in Jardim Andere, in the municipality of Varginha, MG. According to the testimony on page 219, from the Commander of the 24th Battalion of the Military Police, based in that city, the intense rain and strong winds caused several calls for assistance from the Fire Department in that region, but no requests for the apprehension of any strange animal or creature were registered that day. The witness showed this Officer the photographs attached to these proceedings and page number 261, of a citizen known as ‘Mudinho’ (Little Mute), who probably has some mental disability and whose physical characteristics could later be evidenced in the photographic simulation study carried out in the IT Section of EsSA, as can be seen in the sequence in these proceedings on pages number 322 to 327. Such evidence therefore makes it more probable that this citizen, probably dirty as a result of the heavy rains, seen crouching next to a wall, was mistaken by three terrified girls for a ‘creature from space’.

Whether the girls could mistake an adult man for such a strange creature is left to interpretation. However, at least one point in the official explanation does not hold: the rain did not reach the region until 5 p.m., so the man could not have been dirty as a result of the heavy rain, since the encounter took place at 3:30 p.m.

Interestingly, that lot remains one of the few unoccupied spaces to this day. There were discussions that the City Council planned to acquire the lot from its private owner and convert it into a touristic attraction. However, as of this writing, the lot remains empty, practically unchanged since 1996. The only additions are two walls erected at the front and back. A small metal door at the front is permanently locked. Peering over the wall, it is possible to see the remnants of the graffiti that Liliane saw 30 years ago.

January 20, 2026, marks the 30th anniversary of the most prominent UFO case in Brazil, when one or more aliens were allegedly captured by the military in the city of Varginha, Brazil. This article focuses on one specific aspect of the story: the report of military vehicles transporting alien bodies from a hospital to a military base. For a general introduction to the case, look here.

According to UFO researchers, a spacecraft crashed in Varginha on January 20, 1996. On the same day, its occupants were captured by officers from the local Fire Department and taken to Hospital Regional, a small hospital in town. They were later transferred to Humanitas Hospital, and on January 22, the presumably deceased bodies were transported to Escola de Sargentos das Armas (ESA), a military school in the nearby city of Três Corações.

The military convoy is described in great detail in UFO literature, including dates, timelines, and even the specific models of the trucks that were used, all corroborated by numerous alleged witnesses. The following year, the Military Command conducted an internal inquiry and produced a lengthy report on the case. Contrary to popular belief, however, the primary purpose of the inquiry was not to investigate the UFO incident and its implications but to determine whether the authors of a book about the Varginha incident should be indicted for defamation and dissemination of false information that could damage the military’s reputation:

The excerpt above outlines the motivations to open the inquiry:

I hereby inform you that on January 24, 1997, while reading the book “Incident in Varginha” by Mr. Vitório Pacaccini and Mr. Mars Portes, published by Cuatiara Ltda., I observed that:
a) In several passages, the authors spread false information capable of undermining or damaging the credibility of the Armed Forces or their members;
b) Under the cover of anonymity, they incite ESA (Army Sergeant School) military personnel to give testimonies in which they reveal classified information about the functioning of this military organization and criticize the actions of their superiors, which are clearly contrary to military discipline;
c) They falsely attribute to this School an act defined as a crime when they comment that in their “technical inquiry,” the witnesses were fabricated to cover up the alleged incident with extraterrestrials.

The popular story states that on January 22, 1996, at around 4 p.m., a convoy of three military vehicles (Mercedes-Benz trucks, model 1418) arrived at Humanitas Hospital and transported the alien bodies to ESA. This account was presented on a website dedicated to the Varginha case (the website is no longer available, but a full transcript is included in the report):

A special reinforced box, a kind of coffin, placed on two trestles, received the creature’s body. The lid was placed on the box and the box was properly sealed. Then it was completely wrapped in black plastic and installed on the truck, properly tied down. The truck’s rear tarp was installed and its plastic side windows were also closed, so that absolutely nothing could be seen inside the vehicle. When these trucks returned to ESA, they were seen by Dr. Marcos A. Carvalho Mina, a veterinarian from the Varginha Zoo.

It is intriguing to see so many detailed accounts of the extraction of the alien bodies, with apparently many civilians witnessing the entire operation. After all, these details must have come from those witnesses. However, as is often the case with such incidents, no photographs or recordings of this complex operation – carried out in two cities – were ever produced. Although it was 1996, before the digital era, analog cameras were widely available at the time.

The other side of the story, however, is quite different. The military inquiry report concludes that on January 22, there was no convoy headed to Varginha at all. The report includes documents and testimonies stating that, on January 25 and 26, 1996, some trucks were sent from ESA to Varginha for routine maintenance at an authorized Mercedes-Benz dealership.

They have included copies of sheets used to monitor the entry and exit of vehicles at the garage on the base. The first image above shows that on January 25, two trucks departed at 8:34 a.m. for Varginha, returning at 3:15 p.m. The drivers were identified as Welber and Vassalo. Later, at 3:41 p.m., the same drivers took another two trucks to Varginha, returning at 6 p.m. According to the documentation, the vehicles were sent for routine maintenance, including balancing and alignment of the front wheels. The second image shows one log for January 24 and three logs for January 25. All four logs relate to the same truck number 3472191138. The aforementioned website lists one of these drivers as being directly involved in the secret operation:

After gathering all our information about the case, we obtained the names of the military personnel directly involved: Lieutenant Colonel Olímpio Vanderlei, Captain Ramirez, Lieutenant Tibério (of the Army Police), and Sergeant Pedrosa. We also know the names of the three drivers: Corporal Vassalo, Private Cirilo, and Private De Mello.

Interestingly, the top two logs record the odometer readings at departure and arrival. For the first trip: 23,641 – 23,574 = 67 km (41 miles), and for the second trip: 19,438 – 19,373 = 65 km. These distances are consistent with a round trip from ESA to Automaco and back to ESA. (Automaco is the Mercedes dealership in Varginha from which ESA had contracted the service.)

The sheets for January 22 and 23 do not show any movement of trucks to or from Varginha. The report includes a copy of the service note for the maintenance service:

ESA has ordered balancing and alignment services for a total of eight trucks. However, upon reviewing the other sheets in the report, I could not find evidence of eight different trucks traveling to Varginha during that time period (based on the serial numbers recorded in the second column). There was, however, a case of the same truck traveling to Varginha four times between January 24 and 25. It is unlikely that this truck underwent four balancing and alignment services in two days -three of which occurred on the same day. It is possible that the inquirers failed to provide all the relevant sheets, or that the garage personnel did not record all the departures. In any case, if records are missing for this period, there may also be missing records for January 22. Another notable observation is that the officer signing the service note is Lieutenant Colonel Olímpio Vanderlei, one of the individuals reported as “directly involved” in the alien body retrieval operation.

Regarding the Alien Convoy, the report concludes that on January 22, 23, and 24, there was no convoy of any kind heading to Varginha; on January 25 and 26, some trucks were sent to Varginha for maintenance, led by civilian Orlando, corporals Vassalo and Welber (Jan 25-26); and Orlando, corporal David, and soldier De Mello (afternoon of Jan 26). Soldier Cirilo did not participate in any convoy. Furthermore, all media reports claiming the retrieval of alien bodies were entirely false. The inquiry as a whole concluded that Mr. Pacaccini and Mr. Portes, although accused of reprehensible behavior, were cleared of any crimes against the military institutions. The inquiry was completed and sent for archiving in July 1997.

The first image in this article shows a tourist map featuring all the attractions related to the Varginha Alien incident, prepared by city officials. The people of Varginha have embraced the story since the beginning, and today, “Alien Tourism” is an important part of the city’s economy. It is clearly marked in the map: “Transporting the creature – Army convoy – January 22, 1996”

In computer graphics, color can be encoded in several different ways. A common encoding is sRGB (standard RGB), in which a color value is split into red, green and blue components. Each component can be stored again in a number of different ways, the most common being an unsigned integer (usually 8 bits wide): a zero value in the red component, for example, means no color, while 255 means full red color. Using this encoding, a 160×160 bitmap needs 160*160*(8+8+8), or 76.800 bytes. This poses a few problems to memory-constrained devices, like old PalmOS PDAs: such a bitmap would not fit a single resource, which are limited to just short of 65.536 bytes. Another problem is memory alignment, since each pixel requires an odd number of bytes. The Motorola 68000-compatible processors that powered those devices had a 16 bits data bus, making it inefficient to access a long stream of data aligned at 24 bits. Because of that, later PalmOS versions offered two different encodings for storing color bitmaps: 8 bits palette bitmaps, capable of using up to 256 simultaneous colors, and 16-bit direct color bitmaps, capable of using 65.536 different colors (encoded using 5 bits for red, 6 for green, and 5 for blue).

Our main concern here is the first type: a palette stores 256 colors, indexed from 0 to 255. Each palette entry defines the red, green and blue components as unsigned 8-bit integers. Given a palette index, retrieving the color components can be achieved in constant time, or O(1) using the Big O Notation. The inverse operation, however, is more interesting. Given an arbitrary RGB color triplet, of all 256 palette entries, which one is closest to the triplet? An RGB triplet can represent 16.777.216 different colors, but our palette stores only 256 unique colors. It is obviously impossible to provide an accurate color for each triplet, but we can find a compromise and return an approximation. Before we can answer this question, however, we must define closest. Given two arbitrary colors in the palette, which one best represents the target RGB triplet?

There are many ways to define a closest function, and the generic algorithm is outlined in this simplified C function named RGBToIndex. It accepts a RGB target color and returns the index of the color that best approximates the target:

The function iterates the palette, and for each entry, it calls a difference function that accepts two colors, the target and the palette entry. The value returned by the difference() function is compared to the current minimum (initialized to a large value before the loop) and, if it is lower, the minimum is updated. At the end, the index of the entry that produced that minimum is returned. There is an obvious optimization that was left out for simplicity: if there is an exact match, the loop can be exited earlier, since no other color would produce a better result.

Our goal is to compare different algorithms and see how they perform, analyzing the quality of the produced image and the time it takes to run. The test image is a 320×180 frame from the Big Buck Bunny short film from the Blender Foundation, licensed under CC BY 3.0. Here is the original 24-bit RGB image, scaled down to 320×180 pixels:

To make things even, since we will be comparing images that use a color palette, here is the same image converted with Gimp to an optimized palette of 256 colors:

Our test images will also have a color palette, but they will use the default palette found in PalmOS, which obviously is not optimized for any specific image. Now the hard part: how do we compare colors? We will start with a color space model that represents colors in a way that mimics how humans perceive colors. It turns out that we do not see all shades of red, green and blue in the same way. To use this color space, named CIELAB, we must convert the RGB values to L*a*b* values (the “*” here is part of the notation, and not multiplication), where L* represents perceptual lightness and a* and b* represent the unique colors of human vision. This conversion relies on somewhat complicated formulas involving floating-point numbers that are beyond the scope of this article. After the conversion, colors (L1*a1*b1*) and (L2*a2*b2*) are interpreted as points in the 3D space and the Euclidean distance is computed between the points:

Delta E*ab is the value returned by the function difference() in the code above. Using this algorithm, the RGBToIndex function was iterated 1.000.000 times with a random color value as input parameter, and the total time was measured. In my setup, the measured time was around 25 seconds, but since we are going to compare it with other methods, the absolute time is not relevant. We will interpret this time as 1,0 time units and scale other times accordingly. The image converted with this algorithm is shown below.

Using an accurate color model is important if precision is required, but in practice, we can get away with simpler models that are much faster to compute. The first optimization is to forget about how we perceive colors differently and simply handle red, green and blue in a uniform way. We can skip the initial conversion entirely and compute the Euclidean distance directly on the RGB components:

Using the same random seed (so the same color sequence is generated), RGBToIndex was again iterated 1.000.000 times. The total time is now 0,0260 time units, a dramatic improvement.

There are noticeable differences in the base of the tree trunk, where the CIELAB method performed better, and also on grass, where apparently the sRGB method produced a nicer-looking result.

Another improvement is possible if we realize that the absolute distance between two colors is not important, but only their relative distance. If the square root of (a) is less than the square root of (b), it follows that (a) is less than (b). It means that we can skip a costly floating-point square root operation and compare the squared distances, working only with integers now. Using this little optimization, the total time drops to 0,0015 time units, another substantial improvement.

The red line in the picture below shows the Euclidean distance between the black dot on the bottom left and the black dot on the top right (in 2D space, but the same principle applies to 3D space). The colors in the picture are arbitrary; they do not relate to RGB values. The blue and green lines use what is called Manhattan distance: instead of tracing the shortest path between two points, we are forced to walk along the gray lines, taking corners as we wish. Using this metric, the blue line is 18 units long (9 horizontal + 9 vertical). The green line is also 18 units (4 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 3), showing that, no matter which path we take on the grid, the distance is the same.

The theoretical advantage of this method over the previous one is that no multiplications are necessary, only additions. It no longer gives a direct representation of distance, but the relative distances between points are preserved. The RGBToIndex run with this new distance function completes in 0,0015 time units, a tie with the previous method. The quality of the image is also very similar to the previous two that used Euclidean distances.

So far, all methods use what is called a linear or sequential search. Iterating all entries in the palette is an O(n) operation. In theory, it is possible to find the closest color without testing each palette entry. But for that, we need a special data structure called K-D Tree, or K-Dimensional Tree. In our case, K is 3, because there are three dimensions: red, green and blue. A K-D Tree is like a binary search tree, in which the dimensions cycle at each level of the tree. Every no-leaf node divides the color space into two hyperplanes. For example, to the left of the root node are all colors with red values less than the root, and to the right are all colors with red values greater than the root. On the second level, the green dimension is used, on the third level, blue is used, and the cycle repeats. In practice, however, the implementation of K-D Tree I have tested performed poorer than all methods using Euclidean or Manhattan distances.

PumpkinOS, the PalmOS re-implementation I have been developing, depends on an efficient implementation of RGBToIndex to perform complex bitmap rendering using multiple, incompatible color palettes. After much experimentation, the current distance function is based on the squared Euclidean method.

In 2021, an audio recording began circulating on social media. It was initially posted by a man from Piquete in a WhatsApp group comprised solely of family members. However, shortly thereafter someone shared the audio on other social media platforms, causing it to go viral in a very short time. The wording is somewhat awkward, reflecting the man’s humble origins, and I chose not to embellish it in the following translation.

Hi mom, bless ya. Here, you know that they discovered the true story of Marco Aurélio,
that boy who disappeared on the peak that time. Afonso’s daughter died three days ago, Afonso Egídio’s daughter. And before she died, she told the truth at the hospital. She said that Marco Aurélio came there asking for help at night, and she had a brother who had mental problems, right? She said that João, who was her brother, took Afonso Egídio’s shotgun and killed Marco Aurélio! Then, when he killed him, he disappeared, João. After a while, they found him hanged in the middle of the woods, and Afonso Egídio was so desperate at the time that he buried him in his room, in the ground, in the room where he slept. And he spent a long time sleeping on top of Marco Aurélio! That’s why the police didn’t find out. Then after a while he dismantled that shack of his and moved it to another place, and built a little church in its place. Now, they say that the police have already been there and blocked off the place, and that the police are going to come from São Paulo to dig up where the house used to be to find Marco Aurélio’s bones. All this time, Afonso, at the time back then, Afonso left Marco Aurélio buried in his room.

In other words, João Carlos, Afonso’s son, had killed Marco Aurélio, and Afonso assisted him in covering up the crime. The woman mentioned in the audio is Marly, one of Afonso’s daughters. She allegedly learned about the incident and was instructed to keep it a secret for all these years.

Marly did indeed die of Covid-19 that year. However, her husband stated that she was using a respirator and was isolated in a special care unit at the time of her death, indicating that she could not have made such a confession. On the other hand, the audio claims that she recounted her story while in the hospital, not necessarily at the special care unit, as it is unclear what her condition was upon her admission. Nowadays the police says this was a classic example of a fake news, in that someone takes a true story with real characters and add fictional elements to it.

Another significant issue with this story is that João Carlos was not found hanging in the middle of the woods, as mentioned in the audio. João Carlos disappeared in July 4 1989 and was never seen again. Afonso stated that he simply left the house one afternoon for a walk and never returned.

In any case, the existence of this audio was one of the reasons that prompted the police to reopen the case in July 2021.

Experts were brought to Mr. Afonso’s former house to identity areas of interest for excavation. The concrete floor was breached, and holes up to 70 centimeters (27 inches) deep were dug. Ultimately, no evidence of a body or any remains was found in the house. The excavation attracted significant attention and was accompanied by a swarm of reporters and live television crew.

However, this was not the first time someone had been digging in that area in search of a body. In 2019, Helena, another daughter of Afonso and a former resident of that house, approached the current owner, Isadora, and requested to stay for a while. Isadora arranged a small room for Helena, allowing her to stay as long as she wished. During the following days, Helena was seen wandering the terrain surrounding the base camp, digging numerous holes in the ground. When confronted by Isadora, Helena explained that she had experienced a dream-like vision in which her missing brother, João Carlos, revealed that he was buried somewhere there, in the same grave as Marco Aurélio. In this vision, João stated that he could not “leave” because he was looking after Marco Aurélio. Helena added that when she was a teenager, four weeks after João Carlos disappeared, in 1989, she and her sister Marlene had been walking along a dirt road near their home when they stumbled upon what appeared to be a freshly covered grave. They attempted to probe it with a stick but could not ascertain what lay beneath. Unable to dig, they returned home and never spoke of the incident again. When Helena experienced her vision, that memory resurfaced, prompting her to return to her childhood home to investigate the matter. She spent three months at Isadora’s house but ultimately left without finding anything.

This story prompted the police to investigate the roads surrounding the house. However, since the base camp is located in a protected area, environmental licenses were required before any excavation could commence. The authorities took a considerable amount of time to grant these licenses, and as a result, the police were only able to begin excavating in 2023, after the case had reopened due to Marly’s alleged confession. The area was temporarily closed and isolated, allowing the police to bring in drones, ground-penetrating radar, chainsaws, large excavators, and various other equipment.

First, the police utilized drones equipped with specialized sensors capable of detecting buried organic material. An artificial intelligence system was initially trained using carcasses of pigs buried in designated locations, allowing it to be fine-tuned for optimal precision. When deployed over the area of interest, the system identified five potential sites, which were excavated in the following days. At one of these locations, the police discovered a dark substance identified as necrochorume, a liquid resulting from the decomposition of bodies, whether human or animal. Nearly 40 years after the incident, and considering the high humidity of the soil, this type of substance is likely the only remnant one could hope to find. Samples were sent to laboratories; however, the material was not compatible with Marco Aurélio’s DNA.

In a bizarre development in August 2023, a man visited an government ID office in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul to request a reissue of his identification document. To verify his identity, he provided a copy of his birth certificate. The clerk confirmed that the document was issued by an official registry office and proceeded to collect his fingerprints and photograph, entering the request into the system. A month later, the man called the office to inquire about the status of his request, but the clerk noticed it was flagged as suspicious in the system. It turned out that the man already had an identification document issued in another state, and the names did not match. It turns out the man had obtained a legitimate copy of Marco Aurélio’s birth certificate and presented it as his own when submitting the request in August. After a quick internet search, the clerk discovered information about Marco Aurélio’s case and referred the matter to the police. The police concluded that the man was attempting to obtain another identity with the intention of committing fraud and that this was not the first time he had attempted it. He likely read about Marco’s case online and thought it would be a smart (!) idea to use Marco’s name as his own.

In April 2025, the police conducted additional investigations near Afonso’s house, once again utilizing drones. The results have not yet been released.

Besides a few interviews granted at the time, Juan has made very few public statements over the years. Many words are attributed to him, but I have found only a couple of instances where we hear directly from him. As a Spanish speaker, Juan communicates in slightly broken Portuguese and has a tendency to stutter. Consequently, his words do not flow smoothly, but I have tried to capture the essence of his statements. To fully grasp the nuances of these remarks, it is essential to have a basic understanding of the context, as detailed in my previous posts on this subject.

The first statement was a brief interview for Globo TV in 1988:

Juan: I want you to give me a way to quickly, using just a 6-inch knife, or four to six inches knife, bury a body so well buried that three years later it still hasn’t been found.

Reporter: do you believe Marco Aurélio is still alive ?

Juan: I am sure; a dead person doesn’t hide for that long.

The second statement was a telephone interview for Aparecida TV in 2009. When asked about his decision to allow Marco Aurélio to go alone, Juan replied:

He had experience. He was a young man who had been with us for years. And he had experience. I said: okay then, no problem, someone has to do it. That’s why if it were today I would do the same thing. I wouldn’t change anything. Not a thing. I consider my attitude to be correct.

When questioned about the accusation of having killed Marco Aurélio, he stated:

Where can I hide such a well-hidden body? To hide it underground, so that there are no traces, you have to bury it 8 meters deep. You wouldn’t even be able to dig a hole there with a bulldozer. Not even with a bulldozer because it’s all rocks there. How are you going to be able to dig a hole like that?

The police report also documents several questions posed during the hypnosis sessions to which Juan was subjected in 1985. All questions were asked by the psychologist, unless othrewise noted.

Question: How was the climb to Marins Peak on June 8th? What route did you take with the boys?

Answer: We left around 8 a.m. and on the way up I got lost with the boys. It took me longer to get to Careca Hill because I took the wrong road and path. The boys were tired and we stopped three times to recover their energy. There was a fork in the road where a truck passed us. I decided to take the right path because there was a wooden sign that said the left path would lead to Marmelópolis.

Question: Did you not notice that the path indicated by the other group of boys from Piquete was different?

Answer: I didn’t see them taking the trail because I was worried about leaving our things and our tents ready for the return trip. I had also been to Marins before, and my experience gave me the certainty that I wouldn’t miss the trail.

Question (by Major Zaborski): Why did you refuse to be accompanied by guide Afonso Xavier ?

Answer: I didn’t refuse. I overheard a conversation between Mrs. Maria, his wife, and a tourist who was asking Mr. Afonso to guide him. She said that her husband was very tired and that was why he was avoiding walking in the mountains. I considered her argument and thought that there was no need for Mr. Afonso to accompany us, and I could spare him the physical effort. That’s what I did.

Question (by Major Zaborski): How was the descent, and why did Marco Aurélio separate from you?

Answer: Osvaldo was injured and cried a lot, saying he couldn’t walk. So we improvised a stretcher to carry him, but it didn’t work out. Marco asked to go a little further ahead to open the path we would take, and I let him. While Ramatis carried the backpack, Ricardo and I carried Osvaldo on our shoulders. About fifteen minutes after we had separated, we reached the rock where we saw the last chalk mark made by Marco Aurélio. There was a gap in the rock and it was impossible to pass with Osvaldo. So, once again, I decided to go to the right, because I thought the trails would meet further down. From there on, we got even more lost.

Question (by Major Zaborski, interrupting Juan): Did you kill the boy or not ?

Answer: No! I didn’t kill Marco Aurélio!

After some time, Juan ceased giving interviews and stopped responding to any requests regarding the case. He relocated to Manaus, in Brazil’s Amazon region, and began a career as a lawyer. To everyone’s surprise, in 2021, he agreed to participate in a live stream on YouTube hosted by Programa Conexão UFO, a Brazilian channel dedicated to UFOs. Here we see Juan in his seventies, and it is even more challenging to comprehend some of his words. Cláudio Iatauro, the host, chats with him for 72 minutes until Juan’s connection drops. Coincidentally or not, the connection is terminated at the exact moment when Juan is asked about the story involving the gardening hoe. I apologize in advance if the translation seems somewhat confusing at times; this is due to the original Portuguese being confusing, and occasionally very difficult to understand. When it was impossible to decipher what he was saying, I marked the text with (inaudible). After a brief introduction, Cláudio asks Juan to introduce himself and to share his story.

Yes, good evening, yes, I find it interesting the way things happened. This activity started in 1984, an activity for Scout leaders. The leader there, from the event, invited me from the Olivetano group to go camping there. And the invitation was made, that thing, and we gradually exchanged contacts by correspondence. In 1985, in March of 1985, we met again, because every year there is a leader’s meeting. So in 1985 we met and he said, “I challenge you to go to Marins Peak”. Okay! Within the senior activity… the senior is the boy between fifteen and eighteen years old. At this age, within the methodology, they have to do an activity, at least once a year, as a challenge. It’s called a senior challenge. About this challenge, what it is: it is to do something really difficult, where they will have to use all their intelligence, physical strength, and use all means to achieve their goal. So, this camp in Marins would be an excellent senior activity. But as it was planned a year in advance, the entire group was supposed to go. Scouts, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, approximately 100 people who would camp. And of course, only senior scouts would climb the peak, but the others would also go to that area. In the end, something that had never happened before happened. This time, people gave up, they gave up, and only four senior scouts were left. Even Chief Valdir, who was the leader of the seniors, gave up. Since I had made a commitment, I was the leader of the group, so I said, let’s go, I’ll take it, I’ll go. Ivo, Marco Aurélio’s father, the day before… he was supposed to go to, but the day before he gave up. Even his supplies, his supplies, were bought in advance. See how it happened, everyone was going there and suddenly everything withered. Well, we went there…

The host pauses to ask Juan to turn off a source of background noise that is audible in the stream. Juan continues with his account.

So, when we got to the place, we were there waiting for the local senior troops, who would go with us to the peak. Then he said, no, they won’t go anymore. The local senior troops went to another place, to another place. So that was a surprise for us. We did all the activities… before you go, you coordinate what you’re going to do. We are not going there to walk around, to sunbathe, or anything like that. No, there are activities to do. These activities were prepared considering the participation of their senior troops. That troop wasn’t there, so that messed everything up. The schedule I had made was completely ruined. I prepared for one thing and had to do another thing. Okay! We camped. When we got to the place, we were introduced to Mr. Afonso, who didn’t know we were coming. We were transported there by a local chief, he introduced us (inaudible). We camped. During that camp, some strange things happened. For example, we went to a river down there to take a bath. We took a bath in the afternoon, two or three in the afternoon, if I’m not mistaken. When we returned, we found the tents out of place, thrown on the ground, someone had been there and had done some damage. I asked Mr. Afonso about the incident and he replied: “Oh, these are stray dogs that come here.” Dogs in a wooded area… it’s kind of strange that they would do that, I thought. And so much so that they ate… they opened closed pots and a bunch of stuff, but the things that weren’t interesting were left in the same place. For example, the butter. The butter had been put, because of the ants, inside a pot with water, so the ants wouldn’t get in, and it was still there. No, sorry, the butter was out of the pot. The butter had been bitten. Maybe it was a dog, but it was a strange thing. Later, at night, we were inside the tent. The tent was closed because of the wind and the cold. And they knocked on the canvas. We said “What’s this?” So we went to see, and by the time we opened the tent and everything, there was no one there anymore. But it was someone who was knocking there. Then I found out that Mr. Afonso’s son, who I had seen two or three times at most, had not taken kindly to us. And even the day before climbing the peak, the day before the climb, I even commented to Mr. Afonso and his wife: “What do you guys live off, what do you do here? Because I don’t see any crops, I don’t see anything.” Yes, no, yes, it was she who said that: “We live off extraordinary services.” I asked: “But what is extraordinary service?” She answered: “It’s doing craftsmanship.” That’s what was said. Okay, it’s their problem, I’m not interested. I saw the young man from afar, and they even said: “Look, he’s not right in the head, he has mental problems”. Okay, I have nothing to do with it.

Juan then discusses a significant moment in the story. The day before the climb, he inquires with Afonso about the correct trail to take to Careca Hill, the first stop on the way to the peak. He explains that Afonso directed him to the dirt road instead of the designated trail. Furthermore, he misses the right turn he was expected to take.

I also asked Mr. Afonso: “How do we get to Careca Hill?” Afonso replied: “You have to take this road there”. “But this road that goes up ahead?” Afonso: “Yes, yes. You go along the road, there’s an entrance on the right and then you go up”. “And what about these people who pass by here, where are they going?” Afonso: “No, this trail only goes up here”. Well, if the local resident says so, what am I going to do? The next day, at the right time, we went down the road, as he indicated, and left. We didn’t notice the entrance on the right, so we kept going straight ahead. We were talking, there were tire tracks on road, and we followed the tire tracks. When I realized we were going too far, I thought there was something wrong. I had to go up, but I’m continuing straight, there’s something wrong there. That’s when we went into the woods until we got to Careca Hill. On this access, we passed by a place with a large tent. This tent weighs approximately 60 kilos (132 pounds). The tent was there in that place, hidden. There was no one inside, we left the tent and went on to Careca Hill. Arriving at Careca Hill, we reoriented ourselves, and everything was fine! Before that, several people were passing by the camp, and one of them introduced himself, said he was a scout leader, and even asked if he should wait to accompany us. But then (inaudible) we have a time to leave, and he said, so let’s go. So I said, leave trail signs. Trail signs are signs that we make to orient ourselves, to know the way. There were several trail signs, which were made with a knife. Someone scratched the rock with a knife. There were several signs, so I went along the path that had the freshest signs, the newest signs, because there were old signs too. And we followed the signs. Now, the place, up to Careca Hill, has a type of shrubbery. After passing the hill, there is nothing left, it is just grass. It is tall grass, as tall as a man. Then the trail gets narrow, you can’t see around you because the path is surrounded by grass. (inaudible) we went in there, we kept going, always following the signs. We took a certain turn and arrived at a certain place where we have to climb the rocks. (inaudible) it is a rock that has a “2”, it is not really a number “2”, it is a rock that has a natural pattern, as if it were a “2”.

Next, he describes the crisis that triggered the series of events leading to Marco’s disappearance:

We climbed up there and, 50 meters (160 feet) from that place, was where Osvaldo fell, he stepped wrong and hurt himself. Well, it’s okay. He hurt himself, the procedure is, we stopped (inaudible) he wasn’t bleeding or anything like that, it was just a bruise. I said, let’s take a break. And there is one more point. I picked up Ricardo, we both walked a little further, and there were signs too, but I said: “Something’s wrong, this is not possible.” After all, I can’t continue because Osvaldo is injured and I have to stop climbing. So I stop, and what do I do?. We had done a course a little while before, two or three months before, with the Special Operations Group of the military police. The instructions in the course were: if you get injured, the first thing to do is: stop, rest, eat, and study what to do to return. We’re not going to do (inaudible). Stop for a moment, think. Is the injured person resisting? Then stop and think for a moment. Well, what are we going to do? We have to transport Osvaldo to base camp, he can’t walk. What am I going to do? We’re going to make a stretcher, a normal one. But a stretcher is made out of trees. There were no real trees there. There was only one thin tree, very thin. We managed to cut this tree, but it was in a deep place, we couldn’t cut it close to the root, we had to cut it higher, using just one knife. We kept cutting it with the knife until we managed to do it. We made a stretcher out of a single piece of wood. This type of stretcher is used by Africans to transport animals. They kill the antelope, make a kind of hammock and carry the animal hanging, two men in front and two behind. But the wood was short, there was no way for two people to go in front and two behind. Only one person could go in front and one behind. Now, Osvaldo weighed 65 or 70 kilos (approx. 150 pounds), it’s not easy for two people to carry him alone. Ramatis was short, he wasn’t physically fit for that task. Marco Aurélio was also frail, he was weak and short, he wasn’t physically fit. Who was left to carry Osvaldo? Ricardo and me. Ricardo was tall, so the two of us carried Osvaldo. But the place is not flat, it is uneven. It is one thing to carry a weight on a flat place. It is another thing to carry the weight on an uneven place. But the unevenness was not 10 centimeters (4 inches), like a step. It was 50 centimeters (20 inches) or more. So how am I going to carry a weight on my back and climb 50 centimeters or more. (inaudible) it is very difficult to do. Due to this difficulty… there was still one more detail, I had to pay attention to the trail because if I deviated from it, we could easily stray from the trail.

The fateful decision to send Marco Aurélio down the trail alone:

So it was necessary to mark the trail. That was when Ramatis offered: “I can go ahead and mark the trail.” I said: “Wait a minute, Ramatis, you don’t have enough training to do it, I can’t do this with you.” Marco Aurélio said: “I can do it.” Wait a minute. He was the furthest ahead of all. He didn’t have the most experience, but had the most practice. He had passed all the tests, including the test by the military police. He already had a lot of experience. He just had to go ahead and mark the trail (inaudible) he knew it by heart. And I had taken a chalk, I always took a chalk, in case of an emergency, to mark the trail, and he did so. He made two or three signs, and after a certain height, (inaudible) where I had to climb, I think it was about two and a half or three meters high (approx. 8 to 10 feet). But to go down that height with an injured person, it’s not easy. That’s when we saw him for the last time. He was below and we were above. In the time it took us to take Osvaldo down, he left, going straight ahead. He went to the left. We went down and went too, but, as it was, there were no more signs. Yes, it’s not that there were no signs, he was further away, and because of the grass, we couldn’t see (inaudible) because of the unevenness.

And his choice to take a different route to the right:

I said, so I’m not going to go up here, I’m going to take a detour to the right and then I’ll come back. We took this detour, and we couldn’t go back. It was very difficult to go back. So I said, let’s go ahead! Let’s go ahead because we’re going to get out somewhere. Because there’s something interesting about Marins Peak. It’s not a place… people who don’t know it think you’re climbing up in the middle of the woods (inaudible) there’s no one there. No, you don’t get lost there. You get out one way or another. Why do you get out? Because you see houses in the distance. So you know that if you keep going forward you’ll get there. You’ll get there in any direction. You just can’t go to the left, there’s a valley on the left. But if you go down to the right, you’ll leave the mountain.

Here, he refers to the northern slope of the mountain. Indeed, if one descends the northern slope, they will eventually encounter dirt roads, houses, and farms, although the path to safety traverses dense woods. Conversely, the southern slope descends into a deep canyon, which is also enveloped in dense woods and characterized by extremely challenging terrain. There is no easy way out of this canyon.

So there was no mistake. A little while ago I heard a report about an 8-year-old girl who climbed up there, a child, she climbs up, she doesn’t have that difficulty. (inaudible) carrying a weight (inaudible) is very difficult. Well, it was okay. We managed to get to the place. When we got back to the camp, the tent… before leaving I had said: close your backpacks. Leave everything closed, tent closed, and well organized. When we got there… the tent has two posts. The post by the door was down and Marco Aurélio’s backpack was outside the tent, open. Which is curious. His backpack was the only one like that. Okay, it was already very late, we rested for a short time and in the morning I got up and left. I walked all that way alone trying to find… if he had been here (inaudible) he would have heard us. If he didn’t leave, it’s because he didn’t see us. So, I climbed the peak again, climbed all the way up, made it all the way back, and when I came back… and I had left a message: Ricardo, when the person who was going to pick us up arrives at the camp, you give the message so that someone can notify the police. Give the message now because something happened. The police must be contacted.

This section of the story is not corroborated by any other accounts I could find. Juan claims that he instructed Ricardo to find someone to contact the police. However, the police were not contacted until 5:15 p.m. that Sunday.

When I arrived at the camp, after my return, he wasn’t there. So the people there didn’t notify the police, but they did notify the scout group. Then a bunch of people who had camped with us arrived at that time… including 12-year-old boys climbing… there was a lot of fog, you couldn’t see a hand in front of you, but they still climbed. They knew the place, that’s fine. We didn’t go up, we waited and they went up. They stayed there looking and didn’t find him. It rained that night.

What follows is a rather perplexing account of the event known as “the screams, the whistling, and the light”. I have heard it several times, but I am still uncertain whether I fully comprehend everything he had to say.

We went to Mr. Afonso’s house, we were inside the house talking, waiting for the transport… we had no way of getting out of there… waiting for the transport, and we heard the screams. They sounded like, I can’t say for sure, they sounded like Marco Aurélio’s voice. And then the whistles. Hey, he had a whistle! So we said, everyone stay quiet, let’s pay attention, to see if… my impression was that it was a S.O.S. message, help. But in S.O.S, you have to give it continuity, it’s not just S.O.S., it’s S.O.S.O.S.O.S…, (inaudible) to be sure that someone is asking for help, because otherwise you’re saying another word that isn’t help. When I said let’s pay attention, we opened the door and saw the light. The light was very strong, it wasn’t blue, it could be the light of a headlight… a car, for example, a car has a yellow light, the headlight is kind of yellowish, or kind of blue… yeah, types of lights, it’s not a blue light, it’s a light that tends more toward blue than white or yellow. It was that kind of light. And the light oscillated, as if it were someone walking… a person walks and does this (N.T.: he moves his hand up and down), there are people who walk (inaudible), there are others who do this (N.T.: again, he moves his hand up and down). So it was something like that. But it was right above us, so we ran to find it and it was there, it was just at a curve, there was a house in front, we just had to go past the house and that was it, we would find it. When we got there, everything was dark. Then a lady who was in that house… when we got there she wasn’t there, later, that day she was there. She heard the screams, went out, “What’s wrong, what’s that scream?”, we asked. “I didn’t hear anything, I didn’t hear anything”, she said. Wait a minute. I’m not a spiritualist, it’s not about a flying saucer, it’s not about any of those things, but something happened, that the person didn’t see the light, there’s no reason to invent that. I have no reason to invent it. And it wasn’t just me, there was the whistle, there was the scream. Later, Mr. Afonto denied having heard it. I thought it was strange, but it is okay. The boys heard it, I’m sure they heard it. Osvaldo was the first one to say it. He was the one who warned us. The three of them spoke. So, Mr. Afonso didn’t hear it, but he was further away. Okay. But we heard it and there was no reason to invent this thing. Now, I immediately thought, could someone who ran… was here and fled into the woods? Going there… to my left there was no way for a person to do that, to hide, because it was a high place, there was a kind of ravine, dense woods, so it wasn’t possible. If he went to the right, through the house, he would go out into the house. Did he hide in the house? Behind the house? I don’t know. I can’t… with lights and such, but we didn’t see it. But there was that light, there was. Did we hear the whistle? We did. Did we hear the voice, could it be his? We did. It’s not just to make it up. So inside (inaudible) main, that’s it. Then, from then on, it was there… the next day, it was the police, it was the whole thing.

When Juan finished recounting the events, Cláudio expressed his desire to clarify certain aspects of the narrative. His first question was, Did you coordinate with another group to undertake this expedition together?

The scout group of Piquete was the one who challenged us, I mean their leader, right, he made the challenge. The senior scouts from Piquete were going to accompany us. We only found out they weren’t going when we got to the place. We got off the bus, the leader took us to meet the person who would take us to the camp… I said “But wait a minute! Where are they?” “Oh, they’re not going. They went somewhere else”, he said. It was a shock to me. It was a shock. Because we would have more scout leaders present, and everything.

Next question: I understand that during this expedition, the boys were scheduled to advance to the next rank. Is it common for such expeditions to be shared with other groups?

No, it is not common. Each group is autonomous. Look, we have to understand the following. The Scout movement is a youth movement, where the adult is an intruder. The movement is for the youth. The adult is an intruder. If we analyze the origin of Scouting, you know the origin, it was in the Transvaal War, the Boer War.

Then Juan embarks on a lengthy digression about the origins of the Scout movement before returning to the topic.

Boys at this age, they… if you give them a commitment, they take it on and fulfill it. So we adults are meddlers, right? They are the ones who have to do… now we plan things together with them, go do this, go do that, they have to pass tests, the tests… the demands that there are… if they don’t have any test, what are they going to do? Go for a walk? No, nobody goes for a walk. They go there to pass the tests. So, these tests were already prepared. They prepare to take the test, and they have to take the test and later they get a badge. And that’s how it is done, that’s why the scouts are full of badges. Because of that. To pass a test, you have to deserve it.

Another question: When Marco Aurélio went one way and you went the other, what was the reason for that?

Well, I think I explained that just now. On the descent, I also started on the left, following him. But there was something, I don’t remember what it was anymore, it was 35 years ago, there was something that made it impossible to climb, so we made a detour, I went around to go back, and I couldn’t go back. Because the accident was even higher. So I was forced to leave that trail and look for another one. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to go back, due to the weight (inaudible). Since he’s bleeding, he wouldn’t have had a problem normally. But with the weight on our back, it’s difficult. You have to find other paths.

Cláudio reads an excerpt from a book titled “UFOs in space”, where astronauts praise the Scout movement. He then asks Juan whether the lights they observed that night seemed to originate from the front of the house or from the left side, facing the woods.

It was definitely someone coming down the trail. Someone coming down the trail. Look, considering Mr. Afonso’s house, the trail curves to the right. The trail goes on a little and curves to the right. Right at that curve there was another house. That house that had been built back then. And when we got to the camp there was no one in the house. But that day there was someone there. So it was next to that house that we saw, coming down the trail, next to that house is where the light was. We went to the place and the owner of the house came out and said she didn’t see anything. “But the light was right here next to you, how come you didn’t see it? How you didn’t see it, the light was right here next to you.”, I said. If we saw it from afar, about 30 meters (100 feet) away, no, 50 meters (164 feet) or so, she was closer, she should have heard it. And she said she didn’t hear anything, I thought it was strange.

When he says “see” and “hear”, I assume he is referring to both the lights and the scream or whistling, even though the question was specifically about the lights. Cláudio inquires whether he had heard any noise coming from the sky, such as the sound of a machine. Juan responds that he had not. Cláudio then asks about the equipment they were carrying, specifically inquiring about the compass.

I carried a whistle, Marco Aurélio carried a whistle, we carried a knife, and a compass too. But here’s the thing, at night, without a flashlight, there’s no point in having a compass, because you can’t see anything. I guided myself by the stars. I guided myself by the stars, there was no problem at all. It’s like I said before, there’s no mistake, you always go down, you’re going down the place and you find the river (inaudible) you follow the river, the river will take you somewhere. Now if I were to go into the middle of the forest walking aimlessly, that would be risky. We found the river, we followed the river, then we got somewhere. So much so that we found it, we got out of there. There’s no secret. I wasn’t worried at all. This is nothing to be afraid of. There’s no mistake.

Then Cláudio asks Juan to explain how he conducted the search for Marco Aurélio after they arrived at the base camp.

I came back alone. I did the entire route we had done the day before, I did it alone. I was fast. Look, when you walk in a group, it’s not the same as… who doesn’t have experience in the mountains. It’s different… it was very windy. It was cold and windy. So a 15-year-old boy can’t run at the same speed as me, who was 35 or 40, I can’t remember anymore, almost 40 years old. So I’m more experienced, I go much faster than them. They had difficulty with the climb, the climb was tough (inaudible). Marco Aurélio suffered a bit, he suffered like all the others. But that’s how senior challenges are. Senior scouts have to face things. So I went up, I did it all over again, blew the whistle, called out and so on, got no response, so I had to go back.

Juan then explains the official search operation and discusses why he believes it was flawed.

I was there the whole time, yes, I was. I was there, when the police and the Special Operations group arrived. We were unlucky, because of the two dogs in the Special Operations group, one of them hurt its paw, the other caught the flu or a cold and lost its sense of smell. So we had two dogs that were useless. Well, I’m not saying they were useless, but unfortunately the dogs didn’t do what they were supposed to do. Then the people from the city came, the woodsmen. The woodsmen invaded the area, but without organization. So any trace that might have existed was erased by the amount of people who passed by. (inaudible). It should have been organized, let’s form a team, let’s go here, let’s go there, make a signal, anything, but no. The people spread out there as they pleased, searching, and it became a mess. (inaudible) where there was a clue, it was lost. (inaudible) first it was the scouts, then the woodsmen. Then, when the police arrived, there was nothing left to do. Where to look? Everyone went there, there were firefighters, I went with them. Then they called the armed forces, the army, a large number of soldiers. When I saw the soldiers, I said, “Now they’re going to find him!” If only they had positioned themselves side by side, to do a fine-tooth comb. But no, the soldiers went one after the other, like ants. It was no use. When the commander stopped, everyone stopped to look. It wouldn’t do any good. Unfortunately, it was useless, even though they were willing. They didn’t know how to prepare the search. So, there were a series of factors that I mentioned at the beginning. A series of strange things happened that I can’t understand. Ivo was a man who was passionate about photography, he had a camera and took pictures of everything. But, at that time, he didn’t have a recent picture of Marco Aurélio. The photo that was published was from three years ago. In the photo, Marco was a child. There’s a big difference between twelve and fifteen years old. So he was no longer that child. He was a young man. But he was presented as a child. It’s strange that Ivo didn’t have a recent photograph, because he photographed everything. So, I’m talking about a series of things that I can’t understand. It seems like something was planned to get us to this point, because I don’t know, I can’t explain it.

Here comes another controversial aspect of the story: Cláudio asks whether Afonso volunteered to accompany him on the climb.

Look, when we arrived (inaudible) the scout leader, I can’t remember his name now, was the one who introduced me to Afonso. At no point was it said that Afonso would go up with us, as a guide. If he had said that, I would have accepted, with pleasure. He didn’t tell me that. He just asked for permission to camp there. And Afonso authorized it. At no point did he say go up, I’ll go with you. The day before, the day before the climb I talked to Afonso. I asked “How do I go up there?” He said, “There’s this trail, this path, this road for the car, and so on. “And what about those people who pass by here?” Afonso said, “Oh, they do not go far.” He gave some excuse. He didn’t say that they were going to Careca Hill. If he had said that, it would have avoided a lot of trouble, but he didn’t tell me. I asked him the day before. At no point was it said that he would accompany us. So, when the time came, (inaudible) okay, he never said, let’s go up. I didn’t know.

He also inquired whether Afonso spoke to him before the search commenced, wanting to know if Afonso received any directions on where to look for Marco Aurélio. Juan distracts himself with an incoming call and does not directly answer the question, stating that he thinks Afonso did not accompany him during the search, although he is uncertain about it. Cláudio asks again if he had discussed the search planning with Afonso. Juan appears less clear, stutters frequently, and occasionally looses his train of thought. From what I gather, Juan did not have any specific conversation with Afonso regarding the search effort. Cláudio mentions that he intends to ask some questions related to his area of interest, specifically ufology. He begins by asking Juan if he trully believes that dogs disturbed their belongings at the base camp.

Afonso said that, but I can’t accept it, I didn’t accept that excuse. There are things there that I don’t believe. That was the excuse they gave, for me it wasn’t like that. Someone attacked us.

He then asks Juan for his opinion about the man in brown who was seen by a boy on the trail.

I didn’t see anyone. This is news to me.

When asked if someone could access the area where the man was seen without using the regular trail, Juan replied:

I think it’s a bit difficult. Without going through the trail, I think it’s difficult.

Cláudio asks Juan if he knows anything about the Blue Butterflies, an alleged sect that operated in the area, adding that some UFO-related occurrences are connected to such groups. The story of the Blue Butterflies sect was one of many fringe theories investigated during that time. It is noteworthy that he mentions a specific detail about this sect: there were rumors that they were known for kidnapping children.

I even mentioned this sect to Mr. Afonso. The day before, I talked to him about it. He told me that the Blue Butterflies were connected to Reverend Moon. At the time, Reverend Moon was famous, and he even said that they did something like kidnapping children, something like that. Afonso said that, but later denied it. Later he denied having said that. But at the time, he said it.

He then asks the Scout leader whether the group discussed the topic of flying saucers during the campfire ceremony on Friday night, specifically if Marco Aurélio mentioned anything about it.

What I remember is that the subject of flying saucers was discussed, whether they actually existed or not. Then each of the boys said what they thought about the subject. I remember that one of them said that the ones who would have the best chance of knowing about this subject were us, the scouts, because (inaudible) we would get in touch with them. That was the discussion. So there was some talk about flying saucers, yes. As far as I remember, Marco Aurélio’s comment was the same as the others, there was nothing special about it.

Cláudio asks whether, after 35 years, he has reflected on those events and if he has reached any conclusions.

Obviously I thought about it, I even wrote a book about it, which has not been released yet. In this book I tell what really happened. The goal of this book is to bring new ideas, so that someone can find a way to give an answer to what happened. There are several comments out there, many people say things they don’t know, I even get angry with these attitudes. If the person doesn’t know what they are talking about, then keep quiet. Don’t give your opinion on something you don’t understand. I can now give my opinion on your t-shirt that has a certain drawing on it, and give any opinion whatsoever. (N.T.: referring to Cláudio’s t-shirt, which has a drawing of an alien) It’s my mouth, I say what I want. But there is a reason why this t-shirt has that symbol. The only one who will know is you. Maybe you don’t even know, but it doesn’t matter. It is my right to give an opinion, but I also have to reserve the right to respect the opinions of others. If I don’t know about a subject, I keep quiet. It’s very easy to give an opinion, for example, “Why does the soldier use the rifle in such a way?” I would do it differently. Maybe, but there is a reason why the soldier uses the rifle in that way. Everything has a reason, so I can’t give an opinion on something I don’t understand. If a doctor performs a certain procedure, I can even give an opinion: he made a mistake. Like what happened to me. I saw a doctor do something and I was outraged, I wanted to hit him. Later I saw that he was right. If I had taken any action, it would have been embarrassing for me. Giving an opinion on something you don’t understand. If you don’t know about a subject, it’s better to keep quiet. It’s better to get informed first. There are people talking nonsense, even within the Scouting movement. But look, as I said before, that activity was for the senior level. The other levels don’t know about it. It’s one thing to say “I used to be a senior”. That’s one thing, it’s another thing to take the advanced senior course like I did. That’s where I learned a lot of things. All the others who have not taken this course cannot give their opinion. They must respect it. If you don’t know the subject, then you keep quiet. Because the other person knows more. What do I understand about this flying saucer subject? I don’t understand anything. So am I going to give my opinion if I am a layman? Why was this done? There is a reason for it, for a correct reason.

He inquires about the actions of União dos Escoteiros do Brasil (an union of Brazilian Scout groups) regarding to the case. Did they support Juan at that time?

It was like this. The regional commissioner, who is the leader of all the scouts in the state of São Paulo, was excellent. He helped me as much as he could. But he was part of a team. The board of directors and some others were only concerned with the image of Scouting. (inaudible) I feel that I didn’t have the feeling of friendship that I expected from them. I had support from the regional commissioner, but not from the others. We have a philosophy: once a scout, always a scout. One for all, all for one. Some leaders supported me, but others, who hadn’t taken the advanced course, gave their opinions. There’s one thing I want to show you. One of the senior level tests says the following: make a journey of at least 32 kilometers (20 miles), on foot, with a maximum of two other scouts. The route should not be familiar to the scout and should, if possible, include difficult terrain. Sleeping outdoors only carrying the material loaded in the backpack, weighing no more than 13 and a half kilos (30 pounds), including food. The examiner can give the candidate up to two tasks, which require a specific report. So look at this: 32 kilometers on foot. With a maximum of two more scouts, but you can go alone. So why a distance that was not even 8 kilometers (5 miles)… there is no disagreement… couldn’t you have done that? Do you understand? If the tests… now, tests for what? To receive a badge? That doesn’t even matter. The objective here is to give… knowledge of what to do in times of trouble. The badge alone is of no use. This is a test. So (inaudible) why can’t you go down 8 kilometers, when it is an urgent case? Like an emergency?

When asked what hurt him the most in the entire case, Juan replied:

Look, to this day, we don’t have an investigative police force. The work of the police seems like a joke, what they did to me. They caught someone (inaudible) who called anonymously and said that I had killed Marco Aurélio and that the body would be in a place (inaudible) where there were two crossed sticks, in the shape of an X, and that all they had to do was dig and they would find Marco Aurélio. Someone said that, I heard the recording. So we went there by helicopter. When we got to the place, there were two pieces of wood, but on top of solid rock. Now you explain to me, how can I make a hole in the rock, hide someone and cover it up again with a knife? If there was a machine, an excavator, not even a machine could do that. Explain to me how it is possible. So someone, who had nothing to do (inaudible) but what amazes me is that the police give credit to these people. The police system is as follows: based on the evidence, you did something, so you confess. I was tortured to confess that I had done that. I can’t confess to what I didn’t do. I didn’t confess, because obviously I hadn’t done anything. But they tortured me. These are things that… some time ago it happened again to someone else. I heard about it in the press. (inaudible) the police torture and everything leads one to believe that it was you. It’s true that they put pressure on, the evidence leads to the person (inaudible) that’s fine, it works, but there’s not always proof, so they look for other explanations. In my case, they didn’t look for other explanations. Someone called Ivo’s house saying “We have the boy, we’ll pass on the information at such and such a time, etc.” Neuma, Marco Aurélio’s mother, ran to the police and gave them the message. The police said that was nonsense, that they won’t do anything like that. It’s just a prank. On the scheduled date and time, the person called and said that on the scheduled date, at the scheduled place, Marco’s family should bring the ransom money. They went to the police and they said it was nonsense. But the family insisted, so they went. Arriving at the scene, a dark square (inaudible), a twenty-year-old policewoman went with Neuma. They waited for the car to pass by. The car passed by the scene three times, very slowly. The policewoman didn’t write down the license plate! Was this policewoman really that ignorant? (inaudible) If the car had passed three times, the second time she should have written down the license plate, but she didn’t. That’s why I say we don’t have a police force. The investigator doesn’t investigate. His job is to investigate. It’s hard to understand.

As I mentioned earlier, Cláudio inquires about the gardening hoe; however, just as Juan adjusts his camera, the connection drops before he has a chance to respond.

In my initial post regarding this case, I outlined several contributing factors to the tragedy. Below is a condensed summary of Juan’s comments on some of those issues.

The expedition did not take a guide, even though one was available and prepared to assist

Juan claims that no one informed him that Afonso was supposed to guide them, and he never bothered to ask Afonso if he could do so.

They took the wrong path on the way up, wasting valuable hours of daylight

He claims to have asked Afonso for the correct trail to the peak, and Afonso provided him with the wrong directions.

After the accident, a 15-year-old boy was separated from the group

Juan asserts that Marco Aurélio was fully capable of completing that task by himself.

At the passage, the group chose a different path, effectively leaving Marco on his own

He explains that it was very difficult, if not impossible, to carry Osvaldo along the path taken by Marco Aurélio. He was not concerned about Marco walking the trail alone because he believed he was capable of doing so.

They became lost on their way back, arriving at the base camp only in the early morning hours

He does not admit to being lost, stating that he had seen houses in the valley and reasoned that by descending the northern slope, he would surely find help. Their delay was due to the extra weight they were carrying.

Not finding Marco at the camp, Juan spent four hours searching for him alone on the trail without informing anyone

He explained that he could go much faster than the boys, so he left them resting at the base camp. No explanation was provided as to why no one else was contacted.

Only after two fruitless searches that consumed the entire Sunday did Juan contact the authorities to report a missing person

He claims to have instructed Ricardo to ask someone at the base camp to contact the police. However, when Juan returned to the base camp at 10:30 a.m., he still had not contacted the police.

In conclusion, after reading the books, reviewing numerous articles, and listening to the interviews, I have formed the impression that Juan and Afonso did not get along from the very beginning. It is possible that one of them said or did something that the other found objectionable, or perhaps Afonso disapproved of Juan’s attitude toward his family. From the moment Juan arrived at the base camp, Afonso was uncooperative, providing incomplete information and even concealing details from the group. Of course, we do not have and will never have Afonso’s complete perspective on the situation, so we can only speculate.

In the weeks following the disappearance, a massive search operation was conducted. The exact number of participants in the search is unknown, but estimates range from 200 to 300 individuals. This group included members of various law enforcement agencies, such as military police, firefighters, a highly regarded special operations unit of the state police, as well as the army, local guides, mountaineers, and volunteers. A helicopter and a plane also assisted in the search effort. As time passed without any concrete leads, these groups were gradually demobilized until no one remained. However, Marco Aurélio’s family never gave up the search, extending their efforts not only in the area surrounding Marins Peak but also to various nearby cities.

Parallel to the search operation, the police initiated an investigation into the disappearance. The image above displays the sketch created after gathering the testimonies from Juan, Ricardo, Osvaldo, and Ramatis. Although it is a simple sketch and not to scale, the distances are intended to indicate the relative positions and lengths of each relevant point or trail. I have taken the liberty of overlaying translations on top of the original. One issue with this sketch is that the distances do not accurately correspond with those found in the area. For instance, it is stated that the trail from a junction near the base camp to Careca Hill measures 700 + 500 + 120 = 1,320 meters (0.82 miles), but in reality it is significantly longer. Additionally, I was unable to identify the point on the dirt road located 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) beyound the junction where Juan turned right toward Careca Hill.

Over time, numerous theories have been proposed to explain the disappearance. These theories can be categorized into three main groups: accidental death, foul play, and either involuntary or voluntary disappearance.

Marco Aurélio is still alive

The complete absence of physical evidence indicating that Marco Aurélio died on the mountain has lead to widespread speculations that he may have survived that weekend. In one scenario, the entire incident was staged from the outset. For some reason, Marco Aurélio wanted to escape from his family and Juan, along with the other three boys, devised an elaborate plan to support this intention. There were no actual accident; instead, the lengthy journey back to base camp was a ruse designed to mislead investigators.

Supporting evidence includes the choice of a less-traveled trail, the apparent lack of injury on Osvaldo’s knee, the excessively long time the group took to return to base camp – delaying search efforts – and the contradictions surrounding the scream and the mysterious lights. However, no one could identify a motive for Marco Aurélio to want to disappear. He appeared to have a functional, happy, and normal family. He was very close to his twin brother, who never noticed anything amiss. Furthermore, it would be extremely difficult for Juan, Ricardo, Ramatis, and Osvaldo to maintain their stories for decades without any inconsistencies.

In the second scenario, Marco is alive but for different reasons. When urged to descend the mountain to seek help, he veered off course and experienced a non-fatal accident that, in some way, impaired his capability to think clearly. In this version, Marco developed a form of amnesia and wandered further away from the base camp each passing hour. By the time Juan finally alerted the authorities, Marco was so far away that the search party was looking in the wrong location. One significant issue is that Marco Aurélio never contacted his family afterward. A plausible explanation must be provided for this suddenly developed and seemingly permanent amnesia.

Either way, the trail to Marins Peak does not offer many opportunities for someone to wander off without being noticed. A person walking down the trail, even if severely disoriented, would eventually be located by someone. Over the decades since the disappearance, there have been many documented cases of individuals getting lost on the trail to the peak, and, in every case, they were found within hours. There was only one instance of a person getting lost and dying, which occurred in 2018. Even then, his body was discovered 18 days later in an area with difficult access.

The police report highlights the intriguing testimony of José Benedito da Silva, a bus driver who, four days after the disappearance, gave a ride to a boy in Campos de Jordão. The boy explained he had been left behind by his group and needed to get to Pindamonhangaba. Since he had no money, other passengers paid for his ticket, allowing him to board the bus. The problem is that the bus driver, fearing repercussions for transporting an unaccompanied minor, kept this information to himself. It was not until April 1986, nearly nine months after the disappearance, that he contacted the police to share his account. Sandra Vergal, the police delegate who took the testimony, devised a clever plan to validate the story. She arranged for Marco Antônio, the twin brother, to casually enter the room where José was testifying. Upon seeing the boy, José exclaimed “that’s him! that’s the boy I saw on that day!“. However, there was one significant problem with this plan: by that time, Marco Aurélio’s face had been printed on thousands of posters throughout the state. His story had been recounted repeatedly across various media shows, magazines, and newspapers. It is possible that José remembered the boy on the bus as resembling Marco Aurélio, as the details of the story aligned with aspects the disappearance.

The theory that Marco Aurélio is still alive is unanimously held by his family, even to this day.

Marco Aurélio was a victim of foul play

There are numerous possibilities that foul play may have been involved in Marco Aurélio’s disappearance. After being left alone on the trail, he may have encountered someone with malicious intentions. It is possible that he was killed at the scene and his body was disposed of in a remote area, such as the dense forest on either slope. However, anyone hiking the trail must have entered through the base camp. Aside from the two other groups, no one else was observed that day. Members of those groups were interrogated and subsequently cleared. The notion of a lone psychopath wandering the trail unnoticed and targeting random hikers seems implausible. While there is the story of the brown man mentioned in the previous article, aside from the testimony of a single 10-year-old boy, no one else has been able to corroborate this story.

Another version of the story suggests that Marco Aurélio arrived at the base camp unharmed but encountered someone there. On Saturday afternoon, Afonso, his wife, and daughters were not at home, as they had gone to the city earlier. The only person present at the house at that time was Afonso’s son, João Carlos (36). João struggled with mental health issues and required controlled medications. People familiar with Afonso’s family reported that João was not particularly fond of hikers near his home. He was described as prone to violent outbursts, and Afonso often reprehended him, sometimes resorting to violence as well. It is also speculated that João was responsible for ransacking the group’s belongings on Friday morning and again early Sunday morning. During one of his outbursts, he allegedly took Afonso’s shotgun and killed Marco Aurélio. Afonso discovered what had happened and concealed the body. However, there was no concrete evidence that such an event ever occurred. In fact, João Carlos is not mentioned in the police report at all. Astonishingly, Afonso and his family were never formally investigated at that time.

However, early on, the police focused their attention on Juan. His account contained numerous inconsistencies, leading many to believe that an experienced scout leader would not make so many errors. The police theorized that Juan killed Marco Aurélio on the trail and concealed the body in the nearby forest. A variation of the story suggests that the other boys, with Juan’s consent, hazed Marco Aurélio, but something went terribly wrong, resulting in Marco’s death. In any case, the next morning, Juan returned to the mountain alone and had four hours to ensure the body would never be discovered. This would make Ricardo, Osvaldo, and Ramatis either accomplices or witnesses, as they were all together. Two decades later, Marlene, one of Afonso’s daughters, decided to reveal a secret she had kept for all these years. On Sunday morning, the day the group returned to the base camp, she saw Juan placing a small gardening hoe by Afonso’s house. She asked her father what Juan could have used the hoe for, but Afonso was unaware of its purpose. Fearing being questioned by the police about the hoe, Afonso returned it to the tool shed and instructed his daughter not to mention anything about this incident. Marlene shared this story with Rodrigo Nunes, who included it in his second book Operação Mairins 2 – Novas Descobertas (Operarion Marins 2 – New Discoveries).

In June 1985, all three boys were interrogated by the police, who exerted considerable effort to extract any form of confession from them. Osvaldo claimed that, on the night before the expedition, Juan left the tent with Marco Aurélio to go to the restroom, returning 20 minutes later. However, one year later, Osvaldo retracted his statement, alleging that he had been coerced into giving that account under psychological torture. Juan also stated he suffered multiple forms of psychological and physical torture, but never confessed to any wrongdoing. An anxious Juan was subjected to a hypnosis session conducted by psychologist Carlos Alberto de Souza at Careca Hill in an attempt to elicit a confession from him, but this effort was unsuccessful. The following day, another hypnosis session was held at the police station, during which Juan recounted the same story.

In the end, without any concrete evidence to incriminate Juan, the police had no option but to let him go.

Marco Aurélio died as the result of an accident

It seems that the accident hypothesis was not taken very seriously at the time. Since an extensive search had produced no signs of Marco Aurélio’s presence in the area, investigators dismissed the possibility of an accident. This is why they mainly focused in the other two scenarios: no body meant that he either had escaped, or that he was killed by someone and the body was carefully hidden. However, nowadays we have multiple documented cases of people gone missing in the wilderness all over the world, never to be found again. The Marins Peak region, in particular, is prone to some features that support an accident of that kind. There are numerous fissures in the mountain, some of them reaching up to 80 meters (260 feet) deep. While the trail follows a ridge for most of the time, both flanks are covered with dense forest. The northern flank will eventually lead to a road and a few habitations, as Juan and the boys found out. However, the southern flank leads to a deep canyon, with almost impenetrable forest and no easy way out. If Marco Aurélio got disoriented by the fog, it is possible that he veered to the south when trying to return to the base camp. The difficult terrain, poor visibility, darkness, freezing temperature and pouring rain created an almost perfect recipe for disaster. He may have tripped and felt into a fissure or in a area of thick vegetation. Or, upon realizing the dangerous situation he was in, he may have decided to hide inside a natural shelter and wait for daylight, but ultimately died of exposure. Special Operations groups and firefighters knew about the fissures and asserted that they had searched them, but there is always the possibility that they have missed a few. It is my understanding that the southern slope was never searched thoroughly.

In 2018, the body of Eric Welterlin, who went missing and subsequently died on Marins Peak, was discovered by a local rancher 18 days after his disappearance. A tracklog extracted from his watch indicated that he descended the southern slope and attempted to climb back up the mountain. The watch ceased recording at that point, and his body was found deep in the canyon, suggesting that he likely became severely disoriented and was unable to find his way out.

The paranormal angle

Any unsolved disappearance generates numerous theories involving the paranormal, and this case is no exception. Abduction by aliens is frequently discussed in UFO circles, with the mysterious lights observed at night cited as the moment Marco Aurélio was taken. Additionally, the sudden appearance of a brown man who vanishes shortly thereafter fuels further speculation. Who or what was he? Some believe that hidden within those mountains are portals to other dimensions, and that Marco Aurélio inadvertently passed through one. The list goes on, but I will leave it at that.

What’s next

In 2021, an alleged deathbed confession and information regarding unauthorized excavations conducted in the vicinity of the base camp prompted the police to reopen the case. However, that topic will addressed in another article.

This is the report of Carlos Vieira Soares, an experienced mountaineer from Piquete and one of the first individuals to summit Marins Peak in the 1940s. At the time of Marco Aurélio’s disappearance, Carlos was 70 years old. Some details in his account differ slightly from the common narrative we know today; however, these variations have been preserved in this translation. His report was appended to the official police report and served as an important source of information for the investigation.

WHAT I KNOW, WHAT I DID AND WHAT I SUSPECT ABOUT THE DISAPPEARANCE OF SCOUT MARCO AURÉLIO AT MARINS PEAK ON JUNE 8, 1985

By Carlos Vieira Soares

It was nine o’clock on the rainy night of Sunday, June 9, 1985, when Mr. Sebastião Augusto Ramos (Gugu), president of the Piquete Scout Group, called me on the phone. He asked me if I could help in the search for a scout from São Paulo who had gotten lost at Marins Peak.

The reason for the request was based on the fact that I was the person (from Piquete) who had climbed that peak the most times, and therefore, modesty aside, I was quite familiar with those steep slopes.

I immediately volunteered and asked him if I should leave at that time, because in a case like that, the sooner we started the search, the greater the chance of success. He, however, claimed that it was not possible for us to leave at that moment, since he would have to arrange for the installation of radio communication in the cars, which would only be done the following morning, with our departure scheduled for 9:00 a.m.

The following morning I prepared myself with the necessary equipment, ropes, a machete, flashlights, a medicine kit, etc., and went to the police station, from where we were supposed to leave.

As soon as I arrived, a police vehicle from Cruzeiro parked next to us, carrying the officer candidate Waldir, Sergeant Paulo and five enlisted men, who had been called for the case.

I introduced myself to them and the officer thought that we could not waste any more time and that we should leave immediately.

I called Gugu and we left. When we arrived at the base, we met the scout guide Juan. The officer ordered him to guide us to the site of the accident with one of the scouts, which had occurred the previous Saturday at 2 p.m., according to the guide Juan himself, who then told us how the accident happened.

One of the scouts tried to jump from one rock to another and slipped, falling with his knee on the rough stone like a drain. He was bleeding so much that he could not walk. Marco Aurélio asked permission to go down to the base and bring help. Ruan allowed it and advised him to mark the route with an arrow drawn in chalk, with the number 240 (the group’s number) on the tip.

During the 18 days that we were searching, Ronaldo and I did not find this marking even once.

Obviously, the entire search would have to be done from that point downwards, so we started to descend, combing the area, blowing whistles and shouting the name of the missing person.

Juan, always by my side, said something about a cross that they had passed on the way back. I found it strange and told him that they could never have passed through there, since the original Iron Cross trail, which was quite dangerous, was abandoned by me in 1952, when I traced the current trail. However, he insisted on the statement. I asked him what the cross looked like and he described it perfectly.

At the time, I didn’t give much importance to the fact and we spent the rest of the day searching fruitlessly.

When we returned at dusk, we found a team from Mantiqueira radio station from Cruzeiro at the base who wanted to hear from me about what had happened and the possibility of finding scout Marco Aurélio alive.

I still didn’t know the physical condition of the missing boy, what kind of clothing he had or what he knew about survival in a situation like that, so I couldn’t say anything and just answered:

If he hasn’t had an accident and knows how to hide in a cave, maybe we’ll find him alive tomorrow. Otherwise, with this low temperature (I estimated it to be 5 to 2 Celsius degrees above zero – about 36 Fahrenheit), he won’t survive.

At night, at home, I began to recollect our work for the day and came to some conclusions:

The scout group led by Juan had lost their way on the way up and back, because on the way up they spent eight hours (from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.) on a walk that, on the common, well-trodden and marked trail takes no more than an hour and a half. On the way back it was worse, because they spent 15 hours (from 2 p.m. on Saturday to 5 a.m. on Sunday), which, even carrying the injured person, would not have taken more than four hours.

Then I remembered the Iron Cross. Could it be that Marco Aurélio had lost his way again and had unknowingly taken the Iron Cross trail, also suffering an accident?

I called my friend and climbing companion Ronaldo Prado Nunes and told him what had happened, asking him to join me the next day. We left at 4 a.m. in his Volkswagen van and when daylight came, hopeful that we would find the so-called scout, we were already climbing the Iron Cross trail, breaking the ice with our hands. No luck. On the way up, there was no sign that anyone had been there for months. However, when we arrived, near the rock where the Iron Cross is located, we found recent signs that at least two people had been there. We followed the trail that led us to the left, on a steep descent, for about two hundred meters (650 feet), where we lost it, given the bare rocks, right where it should have crossed the regular trail. We spent the rest of the day searching, helped after 11 a.m. by Dr. Mauro’s group, made up of twelve people, all from Piquete.

We found several dens and deep holes where we climbed down the ropes and where we had to turn on our flashlights.

In the afternoon we returned, disappointed by our failure but with the firm intention of returning the next day.

After the third day we had lost all hope of finding Marco Aurélio alive. However, we continued the search, now paying closer attention to the vultures as they moved around.

By this time, there were many people helping in the search. Special Operations Team with their trained dogs; the Fire Departments of Cruzeiro and Guaratinguetá; a company of the Fifth Infantry Battalion from Lorena; scouts from all over the Paraíba Valley, helicopters; civilian staff from IMBEL (Piquete Warfare Materials Industry) and civilians like us, from the cities of Piquete, Delfim Moreira, Marmelópolis and neighboring farms.

At the request of the Mayor of Piquete, I went by ambulance to the Pilões neighborhood, where they had seen a boy scout, or girl scout, that was wandering the roads alone. (We found) nothing, (it was) pure rumor. A psychic from Conceição do Rio Verde also told the Mayor that Marco Aurélio was in a abandoned coal mine, surrounded by an eucalyptus plantation. It was also on her orders that I set off there. I visited four coal mines and found nothing. After eighteen days without rest, my seventieth birthday in May, and a sprained ankle made me give up.

I excused myself with the certainty that there were many capable people up there searching. It was estimated that there were an average of 150 men per day, except on Saturdays and Sundays when that number increased to 180.

Now, in these days of October, as I recover from pneumonia, I have had time to think about the matter.

If the entire search, as was natural, was carried out from the site of the supposed accident downwards, the search from that point upwards was not searched. Well, what if Marco Aurélio, who descended ahead of his companions, had lost the trail (remember that on that Saturday there was drizzle and a lot of fog), and returned to find his companions? They had also lost the trail, as they passed by the Iron Cross and, therefore, Marco Aurélio, not finding them again, passed by the site of the accident, climbing disoriented towards the peak. This is a case that as soon as I feel better, I will look into. I promise that.

Now, this October, they are saying that the police will bring Juan and the three scouts to walk the trail, that is, the route they took that day. Frankly, I doubt that the boys will be able to help in any way. Firstly because it has been four months and all signs have already disappeared. Second, because people who are guided usually don’t pay attention to the path and third, because most of the way back was traveled at night, therefore, completely blind.

I want to leave here, on this day of October 13, 1985, my personal opinion about this case that shook almost all of Brazil.

I believe that Marco Aurélio is alive and far away from here. With the connivance of Juan and his three companions, he have escaped after devising a careful plan.

There are many details that were not well explained and I will mention them:

a) Juan is a very experienced and very lively guide and already knew Marins, because he had already climbed it. How can it be explained that it took so long to reach the middle point of the mountain, with a well-worn trail, because days before, on May 25/26, I had walked it with Col. Max and his son, Major Itamar, his wife and two children and eighteen other people from the scout group of Piquete.

b) In addition to not obeying the strict Scouting rules that the group should never be divided, he ordered or allowed Marco Aurélio to go out in search of help that he knew would not be found within a radius of many kilometers.

c) The group was made up of five people. Now, in any terrain condition, four people, and even more so, four scouts, can easily transport an injured person.

d) When I went down on Monday, I asked Mr. Afonso, on whose land Juan and the other four had camped, if the injured person was better. Mr. Afonso told me that he had not seen anyone injured or even limping.

e) There is also the case of a Japanese couple who passed through Marmelópolis in a luxury car and asked how they could get to the base of the mountain. They were never seen again.

f) And there is also the case of Mr. Ivo, Marco Aurélio’s father. I have spoken to him several times and I swear: I have never seen anyone so cold, so detached from emotions. I have never seen a single lip tremble, a tear, nothing. He spent an entire week at Gugu’s house, giving interviews, reading newspapers and only went to the place where his son disappeared at the invitation of Father José Somelli, a parapsychologist, when he asked me to take him there, on Sunday, June 15.

For these and other reasons, I would not be surprised if one day Marco Aurélio shows up here, happy and handsome, laughing at us.