Intense search for Tenerife father who has disappeared with his daughters

The Guardia Civil have mounted a search in Tenerife for a father and his two daughters, aged 1 and 6, whose disappearance was reported on Tuesday as he took his daughters without his estranged wife’s permission. Police sources say that a boat owned by the girls' father, which he had apparently used on Tuesday, had been found empty drifting off the coast of Güímar.

The man's name is Tomás Antonio Gimeno and his daughters are Olivia, the eldest, and Anna. The boat was intercepted by a Martime Rescue boat and a tugboat, and a Maritime Rescue plane also participated in the search.

Tomás, the father, is a 37-year-old man, 1.85 meters tall and weighs 75 kilos, who was wearing dark-colored bermuda shorts and a black t-shirt the last time he was seen, according to the description published in the website of the National Centre for missing persons of the Ministry of the Interior.

Anna is one year old, has blue eyes, short wavy blonde hair, and is 70 centimetres tall, and her sister Olivia is six years old, with brown eyes, long, straight brown hair, and is 110 centimetres tall. The last time she was seen, she was wearing long gray sweatpants, a blue sweater and black trainers.

The original complaint was filed because the man took the girls without authorization. Last night the search team said it was considered a high risk disappearance given the circumstances surrounding the case, and the information provided by the family.

The first thing the investigators did was to take a statement from the people in the family and their acquaintances, to have details that could provide a clue about the possible whereabouts of the three of them. The father's habits were also investigated which is what led to look for his boat, which was still being guarded by the Guardia Civil last night, after a thorough examination of the interior of it.

Today the search will resume on the coast of Güímar, both by air and from rescue boats and by the Guardia Civil itself. It is also being investigated whether the man may have left the island by plane with the girls.

This morning it has come to light that the missing man sent several whtsapp messages to relatives and friends with goodbye messages. In some of these he referred to the boat that was found yesterday 1.8km off the Guimar coast with no-one on board.

Both the family and the authorities ask anyone who can provide any information about the whereabouts of the two girls, Anna and Olivia, and their father, Tomás, do not hesitate to notify the Guardia Civil or any other force, in order to facilitate their return home, of which there is still hope.