After almost nine months without news of the whereabouts of Lourdes Garcia Guardia Civil investigations have taken them to a rural area of Roquetas de Mar, a small hamlet known as Mohua.

More than one hundred agents from the Unidad Central Operativa de la Benemérita spent a lot of last Thursday searching the area without any success. During the mid afternoon the search had to be suspended due to high temperatures but it was rescheduled to begin again on Friday morning at first light.

The police are searching for any evidence that might be useful following the girl's disappearance on 3 October last year. A native of Gergal, just north of Tabernas, she was last seen by friends whjen she left her workplace at a Cepsa petrol station in Roquetas on that day.

Investigation of the case, for which no details have so far been revealed, have led the agents to focus their search in an area of desert several miles from the house where the girl lived in Roquetas. It seems that the evidence they have found to date is clear and convincing, hence the decision to involve a hundred officers in the search.

Amazingly the family are still hoping that Lourdes will be found alive. As they waited expectantly for a call from the agents they say they have not lost hope even though they recognise that over time "the probability has diminished." Yet they are still not ruling out the possibility that she may have been kidnapped and may still appear alive.

The case has been investigated continuously since last October with regular ‘Stop and Search' patrols being carried out in different parts of the Province.

Their neighbours were the first in Gérgal to raise their concerns. Thereafter colleagues from Roquetas joined with them and finally the family all of whom have mounted regular searches in the region. Family and friends even celebrate her birthday reading poetry and playing music on the Rambla de Almería. Her picture is still displayed in many taxis, and the windows of bars, restaurants and businesses throughout the area. Many people are confused both by the circumstances of her disappearance and by the few signs that have been found so far.

Lourdes Garcia, aged 34, disappeared at the end of her working day from a service station in a residential area of Roquetas. One of the garage's security cameras shows her walking out of the establishment just after 3pm in the afternoon. She appears totally calm and there appear to be no unusual circumstances. She was last seen wearing a pink shirt with the Cepsa logo on the breast, grey trousers with a red stripe down the side. Since her disappearance her mobile phone has not been used nor are thare any movements from her bank account

The Civil Guard found her car near the bullring in Roquetas 48 hours after her disappearance. Inside were her belongings and the keys were still in the ignition. At the time of writing the search had once again been suspended because of the heat and there had been no further developments in the case.