Pilgrims are being warned to avoid walking alone along a 24km (15-mile) stretch of Spain's Camino de Santiago after police started an investigation into an attempted abduction in the same area where an American pilgrim went missing in early April.
Denise Thiem, from Arizona, was last seen in the town of Astorga, in the northwestern province of León on April 5th. The 41-year-old was walking along the Camino Francés, one of the most popular of the pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela, which between them attract hundreds of thousands of people each year.
More than six weeks after her disappearance, Spanish police say the investigation remains open.
Her family and friends, meanwhile, are recruiting volunteers for local searches of the area, with the next search planned in Astorga on Saturday.
As alarm grew among residents of the small municipality of Astorga over Ms Thiem’s disappearance, warning bells went off again last week when a local woman jogging near a popular resting spot for pilgrims was approached by two men in a car. “It was a terrible experience,” the woman, who is in her 50s, told Atlas media.
As the young men attempted to get her attention, she noticed that one of them had his face partially covered. One of them grabbed her by the arm, attempting to force her into the car. “He left marks on my arm where he grabbed me.”
She slipped out of his grip and took off running. “I headed into the bushes and he was behind me.” She found a place to hide, calling for help on her mobile. Police are investigating the incident.
With local media drawing parallels between the attempted abduction and Ms Thiem’s disappearance, one of the pilgrimage’s largest English-speaking forums advised pilgrims not to walk alone on the section of the route, which stretches from Astorga to Rabanal del Camino.
"It seemed like it got to a point where there were so many things, and when you put them together it sounded like we should tell people about this," said site administrator Ivar Rekve.
Residents had told local daily El Diario de León that this wasn't the first they had heard of incidents like the attempted abduction, and complained about a lack of security in the area.
In his 10 years of running the forum, ¨Mr Rekve said it was the first time he had ever sent out such a warning, in which he highlighted the credible reports about improper behaviour towards women along the route. “The Camino has been a very safe place, and it still is, but it only takes a few to make the situation more uncertain,” he added.
Several other pilgrims have come forward, flagging inappropriate behaviour on the same section where the American pilgrim disappeared.
Accosted by biker
One pilgrim, walking from Acebo to Molinaseca, detailed how she was accosted by a mountain biker who tried repeatedly to grab her breasts. The incident took place one day before and some 40km (25 miles) from where Ms Thiem was last seen.
“There were very few people out there – If I saw someone every half hour, I would be surprised,” said Maureen, a New Yorker who asked that her last name not be used.
“He was trying to touch my breasts . . . He tried three different times and I tried to laugh it off because I didn’t want to anger him. It was very unexpected, very bizarre. It was a little ridiculous – this guy was maybe 22; I’m 47.”
She left hurriedly, checking to make sure that she wasn’t being followed. “This guy was younger, fitter and could have easily overpowered me.”
She told few people about what had happened to her, but after hearing about the disappearance of Ms Thiem, she began speaking out. “Most pilgrims are having such an amazing time, you don’t want to darken their experience with such a scary story. But now I feel like I should have told more people.”
It's the same thought that has continually crossed the mind of Barbara Veronese since she heard of Ms Thiem's disappearance. As the 60-year-old German pilgrim was walking on her own near Astorga, she was passed very slowly four times by a white car. At one point the car stopped some 15m ahead of her and a man emerged. "It was kind of strange. I was trying not to look at him. I think he was masturbating," she said.
Veronese picked up the pace, hoping to catch up to four Irish pilgrims ahead of her on the trail. The Irish group had noticed the car and stopped to wait for her. “I think the guy saw them and he disappeared and didn’t come back.”
Some three weeks after Ms Thiem’s disappearance, another pilgrim chimed in on the Camino de Santiago forum, posting her own experience in the area.
Some eight months earlier, she had taken an alternative route listed in her guide, turning off the main route between Astorga and El Ganso and following what she called a “fake” arrow marked on the trail.
"On the wrong path, a masked man attacked me with a stun gun. However, I was able to free myself and run away," she wrote, identifying herself on the forum as Josie from Germany.
Spanish police confirmed that someone had been arrested in connection with the case. Court authorities, citing privacy reasons, would not say whether the arrested person had been charged.
The ongoing investigations have prompted the municipality of Astorga to also recommend that pilgrims avoid travelling alone along the most remote areas of the route.
"It's for precaution, we understand there isn't any danger," said the local mayor, Victorina Alonso, likening it to an advisory to watch over one's luggage at the airport. "The airport isn't full of people who rob all the time, but there are a few people who will find a piece of luggage and take it."
She urged pilgrims to stay calm, noting that all of the incidents were being treated as isolated cases until the police found otherwise.
– Guardian service