Body discovered in search for missing flight attendant in Colombia layover

Authorities have found a body in the efforts to locate the American Airlines flight attendant who disappeared in Colombia.

On Friday (March 27), Medellín Mayor Federico Gutiérrez provided an update in the pursuit of 32-year-old Eric Fernando Gutierrez Molina in a statement on X.

Gutiérrez mentioned there is a “strong likelihood” that the body belongs to Molina, who went missing during a layover in Medellín a few days before.

“There is a very strong likelihood that it is this individual,” Gutiérrez wrote, referring to the absent flight attendant. “The remains are being taken to the forensic medicine office in Medellín for verification and identification.”

The mayor noted in his statement, translated from Spanish, that the body was located between Jericó and Puente Iglesias five days after the search for the Texas local began.

Gutiérrez said he conveyed the “sad news” to Molina's father, who was in Medellín during the search.

“Our thoughts are with his family and friends,” Gutiérrez wrote in the announcement.

The probe into the disappearance is “quite advanced,” and investigators “have clear clues about those involved,” the mayor added.

The National Police of Colombia did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's query on Saturday, March 28.

In a press briefing on Thursday, March 26, Medellín's security secretary Manuel Villa Mejía stated that Molina went out with a male and female colleague on March 21, and eventually left with the woman and other unfamiliar individuals to a different location, as reported by NBC affiliate KXAS.

Authorities noted those individuals, whose identities have not been released, have a past of using a substance called scopolamine, or “devil’s breath,” to commit robberies.

Ernesto Carranza, Molina's longtime partner, and Sharom Gil, Molina’s closest friend, told CBS News they last spoke with Molina on March 21.

"I chatted with him Saturday night, he mentioned he had a stopover in Colombia and planned to go out with friends," said Gil.

Carranza mentioned his concern after he couldn't reach Molina by Sunday morning.

Later, he discovered that Molina’s phone was detected in two areas that “were nowhere near” the flight attendant’s hotel. Gil also noted that Molina’s female coworker was unable to remember parts of the evening.

Carranza also mentioned being “devastated” about his partner's disappearance and struggling to wake up without knowledge of the flight attendant's location.