Missing teenager Rodrigo Lapa was found dead this morning in a countryside area behind the house near Malheiro, Portimão where he lived with his mother, step-father and little sister.
Rodrigo, 15, had been missing since 07:00 on Monday 22nd of February, the last time his mother said she saw him. He later failed to show up to school in Estômbar but classmates said he had sent a text message the previous Friday saying he was feeling ill.
Rodrigo’s body was discovered shortly after 09:00 today in an area of bushes and olive trees between Vendas and Malheiro, in Portimão, close to the city hospital and less than 100 metres from his home.
The body had not been buried and the Judicial Police is determining whether the death is the result of homicide or an accident.
The police, supported by a forensic team have been gathering evidence and extended the search to the mother’s house which has been sealed off.
The boy's mother, Célia Barreto, was taken in for further questioning and returned home at 13:00, accompanied by police officers.
Thus police want to trace his moves, if any, over the weekend while they await the results of an autopsy to see if this is a full blown murder inquiry.
Rodrigo’s stepfather’s moves involved flying to Brazil on the Monday that Rodrigo was reported missing by his mother, although she apparently has claimed that a ticket already had been bought and that this was a pre-arranged trip, not a spur of the moment one.
Correio de Manhã this evening stated that the stepfather was the only suspect in the teenager's murder but police have not said whether he was murdered or not, or whether the stepfather is a suspect.
