Delete
Nicolás Notario, in an image provided by the family. SUR
Laura, the wife of the missing paddle boarder on the Costa del Sol: 'He told me he wouldn't stray far from the shore'
Missing person

Laura, the wife of the missing paddle boarder on the Costa del Sol: 'He told me he wouldn't stray far from the shore'

The search operation has resumed this Wednesday morning for the 53-year-old real estate agent who lives in Marbella and has two children, aged 12 and nine

Eugenio Cabezas

Benajarafe

Wednesday, 28 February 2024, 11:59

A sea search involving Salvamento Marítimo rescue vessels and aircraft has resumed on the eastern strip of Costa del Sol this Wednesday morning (28 February) after a woman reported her husband missing on Tuesday afternoon when he did not return from a paddle boarding trip.

Nicolás Notario was born in Cadiz 53 years ago. His wife is from Cordoba and her name is Laura García. They met in Cordoba but have been living in Marbella for around twenty years. She works as a salesperson and he is a real estate agent. At the beginning of last year they bought an apartment in the Los Laureles de Benajarafe complex, in Vélez-Málaga, to spend their holidays. The couple have two children, a 12-year-old girl and a nine year old boy.

Nicolás is a great fan of sports, especially swimming and paddle boarding, something he has been practising regularly for more than three years, first in Marbella and since last summer on the beaches of Vélez-Málaga. On Tuesday, coinciding with the 'Semana Blanca' holidays, the family was staying at theit flat when, after lunch, at around 3.15pm, Nicolás told them that he was going to go out for a while with his paddle board.

"He left with his clothes on, he didn't take his mobile phone, just his keys, swimming costume, T-shirt, some booties and a watch, because I told him to be back before 5pm because we had an appointment with a specialist for our daughter in Rincón de la Victoria", his wife said today, visibly affected.

When it reached 5.10pm Laura started to get nervous and sensed that something was wrong. "I looked out onto the beach and saw nothing, there was no one there. The sea was calm but it was quite windy from the west," she said.

A few minutes later, when Laura realised that she could not see her husband, she called the 112 Andalucía emergency telephone number. The search operation was quickly activated with rescue vessels and a helicopter, Local Police, Guardia Civil and the National Police all involved. Although the aircraft support was withdrawn late in the afternoon due to the lack of visibility, from early this Wednesday morning the search has been resumed, so far without success.

"Be very careful"

"I told him, 'be very careful', that it was very windy from the west, and he told me, 'don't worry, I'm not going to stray from the shore'", recalled Laura, who, despite the difficult situation she is going through, said she was "optimistic and strong", adding, "I want to be positive, that we are going to find him. He is strong, he is very sporty, and the National Police told me that as long as the board doesn't turn up we have to be hopeful". "I want to be positive, and that we are going to find him," said Nicolás Notario's wife.

Laura's voice cracked when she recalled the case of the two young Argentinians who disappeared last summer when they also went out paddle boarding from La Misericordia beach in Malaga city. "I hope they find him soon, the whole family is very upset," she said.

The missing man's wife and two children remain in Benajarafe, where other family relatives from Cadiz, Marbella and Córdoba have arrived to support them at this difficult time.

Esta funcionalidad es exclusiva para registrados.

Reporta un error en esta noticia

* Campos obligatorios

surinenglish Laura, the wife of the missing paddle boarder on the Costa del Sol: 'He told me he wouldn't stray far from the shore'