focused on locating him, began searching for him immediately, and spared no effort in the search, but were ultimately unsuccessful.” 45 The Inspector General concluded in the decision that all indications were that the disappearance of Óscar Tabares “[...] did not result from the actions of someone motivated by the desire to erase all evidence of his existence. It was instead the result of his own choice: his conduct toward his superiors was so egregious—throwing a grenade at them—that he knew that if he stayed, he would have to face the consequences, and he chose instead to abandon the ranks of the National Army.” 46 Accordingly, the Inspector General determined that “[t]here is no evidence whatsoever that the officer or non-commissioned officer who were attacked by the soldier were responsible for his alleged disappearance,” 47 concluding that the testimonies were in agreement with the lieutenant’s report in that the incident was provoked by Óscar Tabares when he tried to kill his superiors “by throwing a grenade at them while they slept, which led them to disarm the uniformed attacker and led to him fleeing to avoid being prosecuted.” 48 51. That order also indicates that the National Army, via communications in response to requests sent to the President of the Republic, informed Ms. Toro that “[...] the facts of Óscar Iván's attempt to kill members of this institution and his subsequent flight do not lead us to declare him missing.” As a consequence, Óscar Tabares was removed from military service by administrative personnel order No. 1009, February 28, 1998, with “Determination of the Force Commander” recorded as the grounds. 49 52. In this context, María Elena Toro sent different “right to petition” claims to the then-Minister of National Defense, to the Commander General of the National Army, and to the President of the Republic, in which she requested information on the whereabouts of her son and for the investigation into the matter to be expedited. These petitions were filed on January 26, 50 March 13, 51 March 19, 52 April 24,53 July 23, 54 August 10, 55 and October 16, 56 of the year 1998. They were all unsuccessful. On December 8, 1998, the army responded to one of the “right to petition” documents sent by Ms. Toro by stating that “[...] due to the facts preceding the removal of [Tabares Toro] and his flight from the scene of the events, we consider him to have abandoned the service. For this reason, the [f]orce [c]ommander has conducted no investigation of the alleged disappearance.” 57 C.3 Investigation and criminal proceedings in the regular courts regarding the disappearance of Óscar Tabares Toro 53. On January 8, 1998, María Elena Toro filed a complaint with the Tisquesusa de Bogotá Police Department about the disappearance of her son. 58 In addition, on July 7, 1998, the father of Óscar Iván, Óscar de Jesús Tabares, filed a criminal complaint with the 22nd Municipal Criminal Court of Medellín— Cf. Decision to close and dismiss Case 008-10804, December 13, 2002, supra. Cf. Decision to close and dismiss Case 008-10804, December 13, 2002, supra. 47 Cf. Decision to close and dismiss Case 008-10804, December 13, 2002, supra. 48 Cf. Decision to close and dismiss Case 008-10804, December 13, 2002, supra. 49 Cf. Decision to close and dismiss Case 008-10804, December 13, 2002, supra. 50 Cf. Right-to-petition document signed by María Elena Toro, sent to the Ministry of National Defense, January 26, 1998 (evidence file, folio 2044). 51 Cf. Right-to-petition document signed by María Elena Toro, sent to the Ministry of National Defense on March 10, 1998, and received on March 13, 1998 (evidence file, folios 2046–2048). 52 Cf. Right-to-petition document signed by María Elena Toro, sent to the President of the Republic of Colombia on March 19, 1998 (evidence file, folios 2050–2052). 53 Cf. Right-to-petition document signed by María Elena Toro, sent to the Ministry of National Defense, April 24, 1998 (evidence file, folio 2054). 54 Cf. Right-to-petition document signed by María Elena Toro, sent to the Ministry of National Defense, July 23, 1998 (evidence file, folios 2056–2058). 55 Cf. Right-to-petition document signed by María Elena Toro, sent to the Commander General of the National Army, August 10, 1998 (evidence file, folio 2060). 56 Cf. Right-to-petition document signed by María Elena Toro, sent to the Ministry of National Defense, October 16, 1998 (evidence file, folio 2061). 57 Cf. Petition response record of the Armed Forces of Colombia, National Army, December 8, 1998 (evidence file, folio 3679). 58 Cf. Complaint No. 018 filed by María Elena Toro Torres with the Tisquesusa Police Department, SIJIN, Crimes against Life and Personal Integrity Section, January 8, 1998 (evidence file, folio 189). 45 46 13