soldier attached to the Artillery School of Bogotá—Carlos Gil Colorado School 23—Mobile Brigade No. 1 of Battalion 20, “Tigre” Company of the National Army of Colombia. 24 B. Óscar Iván Tabares Toro’s disappearance and his family's search for him 40. Óscar Tabares visited his family in Medellín for the last time from September 19, 1997, to October 4, 1997, when he was on vacation. At that time, Mr. Tabares Toro told his mother that he was having problems with the lieutenant in charge of the Company. 25 After that visit, he returned to his job in the army. 41. On December 28, 1997, the “Tigre” Company encamped in Vereda de San Luis de Toledo, a rural part of the municipality of San Juanito, Meta. 26 Around midnight, several witnesses heard a grenade explosion and three shots. 27 Óscar Iván Tabares Toro's whereabouts have been unknown since that moment. 42. Because María Elena Toro Torres had not heard from her son, she began to seek information on his whereabouts. Ms. Toro contacted soldiers and military authorities. The authorities indicated that on December 28, 1997, Óscar Tabares had thrown a grenade within the company’s encampment and then fled. She was even told that he had joined the guerrillas, specifically the 53rd Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (hereinafter also “FARC”). 28 43. Óscar Tabares’s fellow soldiers told María Elena Toro a different version of the events. One of them reportedly told her that her son had been killed the night of the incident of the grenade explosion and gunfire. This account was confirmed by other soldiers. On January 18, 1998, another soldier apparently told Ms. Toro by telephone that her son’s body was in San Juanito, Meta 29. Ms. Toro stated that another soldier told her that after he heard the grenade blast, he heard Óscar Tabares yell “It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me,” and that gunshots could also be heard. After this, the lieutenant reportedly moved Cf. Statement of María Elena Toro before the Court at the November 8, 2022, public hearing. Cf. Sworn statement and complaint by María Elena Toro Torres before the Departmental Inspector General of Antioquia, Office of Human Rights, Medellín, on January 19, 1998 (evidence file, folios 68–71) and Decision of Military Criminal Court of Instruction 47 on June 25, 1998 (evidence file, folios 73–91). 25 Cf. Statement of María Elena Toro before the Regional Prosecutor’s Office on November 17, 1998 (evidence file, folios 93–96). 26 Cf. Decision of Military Criminal Court of Instruction 47 on June 25, 1998, supra, and Preliminary investigation 463 of the Second Specialized Prosecutor's Office, National Unit of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Prosecutors, July 2, 2008 (evidence file, folios 1973–2012). 27 Cf. Decision of Military Criminal Court of Instruction 47 on June 25, 1998, supra. 28 On January 6, 1997, a soldier who had served with Óscar Tabares told María Elena Toro to “call the Artillery [S]chool directly.” On January 7th of the same year, María Elena Toro, along with her husband Holmar Gallego, went to the Fourth Brigade of Colombia and was told that Óscar Tabares had thrown a grenade and fled. On January 8th, she went to the Artillery School, where a colonel repeated this version of the facts and also stated that Óscar Tabares was a member of the 53rd Front of the FARC. She returned to the Military School a couple of times and was told that the investigation had been transferred to the military criminal justice system, but she was not informed of the whereabouts of her son. However, she was told by the judge of Mobile Brigade No. 1 of the Artillery School, which was in charge of the military investigation, that the reported gunshots had been confirmed. Ms. Toro also stated that at the Artillery School she was told that Óscar had withdrawn money from his bank account after the incident, but later it was confirmed that that information was untrue. Cf. Sworn statement and complaint by María Elena Toro Torres on January 19, 1998, supra; Addition to sworn statement by María Elena Toro before the Departmental Inspector General of Antioquia, Office of Human Rights, Medellín, on February 6, 1998 (evidence file, folios 159–161); Addition to statement by María Elena Toro before the Departmental Inspector General of Antioquia, Office of Human Rights, Medellín, on February 13, 1998 (evidence file, folios 163–165); and Statement of María Elena Toro before the Court at public hearing, supra. Moreover, the version of events according to which Óscar Iván Tabares Toro had joined the guerrillas had been gathered by the Second Specialized Prosecutor’s Office. Similarly, during the Preliminary Investigation of the Designated Disciplinary Inspector General for the Defense of Human Rights, a fellow soldier of Óscar Iván “when questioned about whether he knew anything about serviceman Tabares stated that the rumor was that he was with the guerrillas.” Cf. Preliminary investigation 463 of the Second Specialized Prosecutor’s Office, National Unit of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Prosecutors, July 2, 2008, supra, and Decision to close and dismiss Case 008-10804, of the Designated Disciplinary Inspector General for the Defense of Human Rights, December 13, 2002 (evidence file, folios 173–187). 29 Cf. Sworn statement and complaint by María Elena Toro Torres on January 19, 1998, supra. 23 24 10