Missing on Camino de Santiago: Latest news in the Denise Thiem case
Arizonan Denise Thiem went missing on Spain’s popular trail April 5. Now, one man has been arrested. Here’s the latest on what we know about the case.
Denise Thiem was last known to be in Astorga more than halfway through completing the Camino de Santiago, a popular trek through northern Spain that would have taken her about a month to finish. The pilgrimage was supposed to be the end cap to a five-month, round-the-world journey that took Thiem through Singapore, the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, France and Spain.
Denise Thiem’s family has been informed that the missing woman has died. DNA tests confirmed that a body found in Spain is hers, almost half a year after she went missing while hiking the Camino de Santiago. Full updates are being posted here.
The family is still awaiting DNA analysis from Spain that would confirm the identity of a body found Sept. 11.
Meanwhile, the hiker who saw Denise Thiem on the day she vanished breaks his silence, speaking to azcentral for the first time about the days he spent with Thiem and the last moment he saw her.
A special Mass dedicated to Denise Thiem was held Wednesday at the Santiago de Compostela, the historic cathedral that is the endpoint for travelers on the Camino de Santiago.
At the service, a representative for the Thiem family read aloud a prayer written at the request of Thiem’s mother, asking for forgiveness for not being able to protect her child. The prayer was written by Phil Thompson, a Pennsylvania man who has never met the Thiem family in person but was moved to help with their internet search after reading about the case.
Amid constant and sometimes conflicting reports from the Spanish press about the case, the family has been “distraught,” said Desiree Yao, Thiem’s cousin in Hong Kong.
Some Spanish media outlets describe the remains found by Spanish police on Sept. 11 as Denise’s body. However, the family continues to wait for official DNA analysis that would confirm the identity of the remains.
Three days after Spanish police arrested a man suspected in the disappearance of Litchfield Park resident Denise Thiem, her relatives are still awaiting official identification of a body discovered on the man’s property.
Over the weekend, numerous outlets concluded the body belonged to Thiem, many basing their reports off a Twitter post on Saturday from Ignacio Cosido, director general of the Spanish National Police. In it, he tweeted in Spanish: “After months of intense research, our agents have located the body of Denise and arrested the alleged perpetrator. Great job.”
However, Thiem’s family said they are still awaiting results of DNA analysis to identify the body. They had not seen the post from Cosido or known he would be tweeting something so conclusive.
“We have not been told yet by the National Police that it is definitively Denise’s body,” Desiree Yao, Thiem’s cousin, said in a text message Saturday from Hong Kong. Cedric Thiem, Denise’s brother, confirmed Monday the family was still awaiting official word.
Denise Thiem traveled to all seven continents, her brother Cedric Thiem said. He said she traveled frequently for personal reasons or for work.
Disappearance and arrest: Denise Thiem, 41, went missing on Apr. 5 — Easter Sunday — while hiking the Camino de Santiago, a popular trek that leads to a cathedral in Spain’s northwestern corner. Her disappearance launched a massive search and increasing agony for Thiem’s friends and family.
On Friday, Sept. 11, following several months of relative silence in the case, Spanish police arrested 39-year-old Miguel Angel Munoz, according to the Associated Press. That same day, police also discovered a body on Munoz’s property near Astorga, the town where Thiem was last seen, according to the AP. Munoz’s arrest took place in Asturias, roughly 100 miles north of Astorga.
Sen. John McCain received a letter Monday from Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, informing him that “the main suspect” had been arrested Friday and that he had confessed the location of Thiem’s body.
“In his property, located in the city of Castrillo de los Polvazares, police found a body that, pending conclusive forensic results, seems to correspond to that of Ms. Denise Thiem,” Rajoy wrote in the letter made available to The Arizona Republic and azcentral. “I would like to convey to you the grief that is felt by all the Spanish people for this tragic end… Please accept my deepest condolences.”
In response to the letter, McCain’s office released a statement Monday afternoon.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the Thiem family at this terribly difficult time,” he said. “I have been assured by the Prime Minister of Spain that their security services and courts will work tirelessly to uncover all the facts of this heinous crime and make certain that justice is served. I commend the cooperation and professionalism of the American and Spanish authorities, and hope that these developments begin to provide the answers that the Thiem family deserves about their beloved Denise.”
On the scene in Spain: A heavy police presence remains in the tiny villages just west of Astorga — Murias de Rechivaldo, Castrillo de los Polvazares and Santa Catalina de Somoza — near where the body was found. From her home less than a mile away from the arrested man’s property, Vanessa Gutierrez could see a police helicopter hovering above the area for a couple hours each day last week, she told The Republic on Monday.
Last Friday, several police vans blocked a main road that connects several villages in the area. A dirt path that leads to the suspect’s home was still blocked off Monday, Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez said news of the arrest and unsettling discovery had rocked the few dozen residents in the area. For years, the villages have been sleepy hamlets that hundreds of Camino pilgrims quietly walked through, she said.
“It’s never happened before, really,” Gutierrez said, adding she was more angry than scared that the suspect had lived so close by.
“The thing is, I saw the guy every single day by bike going through the village, going to Astorga,” she said. “Sometimes he drove his bike quite late at night through the Camino.”
Special Mass on Wednesday: The council of the Santiago de Compostela — the historic cathedral that is the endpoint for those who travel the Camino’s many routes — has declared Wednesday’s special Mass will be dedicated to Thiem.
Thousands of travelers converge on the cathedral each year, some completing a religious pilgrimage, some simply moved to follow an ancient traditional path. Thiem herself had been intrigued by the Camino ever since watching “The Way,” a 2010 film starring Martin Sheen that follows his character’s soul-searching walk to Santiago after the death of his son. When she started her journey in Pamplona in March, Thiem had planned to walk the Camino for about a month and a half.
Santiago de Compostela is where she would have arrived, had she completed her pilgrimage.
“I have been there for a special Mass, and it is an event and experience that no words can fully describe,” said Phil Thompson, a friend of the Thiem family, in an email. “Someone did Denise a great honor with this decision.”
