Ciro Castillo was born on May 16, 1984, in Peru, carrying the name of his father, Dr. Ciro Castillo Rojo, a prominent surgeon from Azangaro. His mother, Rosario García Caballero, and his siblings, Antonio and María Gracia, formed a close and loving family. Ciro Castillo grew up with a passion for nature and an unwavering commitment to his education, which led him to pursue a degree in Forest Engineering at La Molina Agricultural University in Lima.
While attending university, Ciro met Rosario Ponce, a young woman born on October 6, 1986, into a wealthy family. Rosario, a mother to a young son from a prior relationship, quickly bonded with Ciro over their shared interests. The couple soon began dating, with Ciro Castillo at 26 and Rosario at 24. Both were adventurers at heart, enjoying excursions tied to their studies and organizing personal trips to explore Peru’s breathtaking landscapes.
The Colca Canyon Expedition
In early 2011, the couple planned an ambitious trip to the Colca Valley in Arequipa, aiming to visit the famous Colca Canyon, a magnet for tourists worldwide. Their journey began in late March, departing from Lima and stopping in Cusco to experience the historic Incan capital. By March 31, they arrived in Arequipa, where they spent a short time in the “White City” before venturing into the Colca region.
Ciro called his mother on April 1 to reassure her of their safety, sharing details of their plans and his intention to return to Lima by April 10 for his father’s election campaign. On April 2, the couple reached Caylloma, the gateway to Colca Canyon. They mingled with locals, took photographs, and decided to hike to their next destination. However, they opted for an unmarked route, relying on their familiarity with the region.
Hours into their hike, it became evident they were lost. Exhausted, Rosario could no longer continue. Determined to find help, Ciro Castillo kissed her goodbye and retraced his steps, hoping to locate the main trail. Days passed, and Ciro never returned. Alone and with limited supplies, Rosario tried to move but soon became disoriented. With her food gone, she survived on herbs and insects. As her phone’s battery dwindled, she sent a desperate text to a friend, pleading for help.
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The Search Begins
Back in Lima, both families were overwhelmed with worry. Authorities, alerted by Rosario’s text, ruled out foul play and launched a search. A rescue team of 14 specialists, supported by local villagers, scoured the area, fearing that the couple might have taken refuge in caves to evade pumas. Despite the challenging terrain, hope remained that both would be found alive.
On April 13, ten days after their disappearance, searchers discovered Rosario near the Bomboya glacier. She was alive but gravely ill, suffering from frostbite, dehydration, malnutrition, and eye damage. Tearful and shaken, she refused to speak to anyone except her parents. Once stabilized, she was flown to Lima and admitted to a private clinic to recover.
The search for Ciro Castillo intensified, with his parents actively involved. Rosario returned to Colca Valley on April 19 to assist, providing details that directed rescue teams and additional military personnel. She claimed that one night, Ciro Castillo had spotted lights in the distance and left to seek help, as she was too weak to continue. Despite deploying American rescue dogs and advanced search teams, no signs of Ciro were found.
On May 3, Rosario faced an extensive interrogation, providing testimony and undergoing forensic tests. However, inconsistencies in her accounts frustrated investigators. Harsh terrain and unpredictable weather further hindered efforts to locate Ciro Castillo, leaving the search without closure.
A Case Becomes a Legal Battle
The search for Ciro Castillo took a new direction when Peru’s National Police Homicide and Kidnapping Division, working with the prosecutor’s office, launched a formal investigation. While this decision prolonged search efforts, it also transformed the case into a legal matter.
Rosario Ponce, visibly frustrated by this development, made it clear she would not return to Colca to aid the search. She openly claimed that Ciro Castillo had abandoned her, a statement that only deepened the anger and suspicions of Ciro’s father. As more days passed with no sign of his son, Ciro’s father became increasingly vocal, fueling public scrutiny of Rosario’s actions.
The disappearance of Ciro soon captured national attention, with daily updates dominating media coverage. Public opinion turned sharply against Rosario, questioning why she refused to cooperate with the search efforts. Many, including Siro’s father, demanded a thorough investigation into her involvement.
In a bid to uncover new leads, Ciro’s father offered a reward of 10,000 soles for information about his son’s whereabouts. However, the reward unintentionally generated a wave of false leads from individuals seeking to exploit the situation.
Amid the growing urgency, Siro’s mother made a heartfelt appeal to then-President Alan García, requesting military assistance in the search. Her emotional plea struck a chord with the nation, and the president responded by deploying 50 soldiers to aid rescue teams.
During a tearful press conference, she expressed her unwavering belief that her son was alive, perhaps injured but still fighting for survival. Her words resonated across the country, inspiring a surge of empathy and solidarity.
Breakthroughs and Rising Suspicion
The search intensified, with elite police units specializing in rugged terrain joining the efforts. After 48 days, authorities found items believed to belong to Ciro Castillo, which were sent for DNA testing. Meanwhile, the Prosecutors’ Board began investigating the possibility of foul play.
Rosario’s behavior further fueled suspicions. She refused to provide personal items or hair samples for DNA analysis and declined to assist investigators. To complicate matters, phone records revealed she had made a call during the time she claimed her phone battery had died, contradicting her earlier statements.
When summoned to clarify these discrepancies and participate in a reconstruction of events, Rosario failed to appear on May 13, 2011, citing mental health issues. This excuse was met with widespread skepticism, as she repeatedly ignored subsequent summonses.
On July 4, 2011, the Prosecutors’ Board president announced that Rosario could be compelled to participate in the reconstruction. Just days later, on July 7—93 days after Ciro’s disappearance—his father formally accused Rosario of homicide, marking a turning point in the case.
Prosecutor María del Rosario Lozada intensified the investigation, traveling to Colca to interview locals who had seen the couple and ordering an analysis of Rosario’s camera for possible evidence tampering. Meanwhile, Siro’s father visited Lima to meet with national prosecutor José Peláez, urging him to expedite the case.
A Shocking Statement
On August 23, 2011, Rosario finally returned to the site where she and Ciro Castillo had become lost, as part of the reconstruction. During the process, she stunned everyone by claiming that Ciro had abandoned her.
This statement, echoed in a televised interview where she challenged him to “face the truth if he was truly a man,” provoked nationwide outrage. Her words not only added to public suspicions but also deepened the mystery surrounding Ciro Castillo’s disappearance.
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A Gruesome Discovery at Las Torres
After months of exhaustive searches, a high-altitude rescue team uncovered a body on October 16 near the Bomboya glacier in an area known as Las Torres. The body, found in a fetal position and inadequately dressed for the freezing conditions, raised immediate questions. Oddly, it was missing shoes and a proper coat but had two gloves on, while a third glove lay nearby, adding to the mystery.
Ciro Castillo’s family identified the remains based on his clothing and personal belongings. Ten days later, forensic results confirmed the body was indeed Ciro’s. The report revealed that he had died from severe trauma, enduring as much as eight hours of suffering before passing. Contrary to expectations, the injuries didn’t suggest a free fall. Instead, investigators concluded that Ciro Castillo had rolled down the cliff, with the actual fall measuring only about four meters. Notably, his legs were unbroken—an unusual finding for such circumstances.
After 200 agonizing days, Ciro’s family brought his remains back to Lima. His father expressed a bittersweet relief, grateful that his son could finally be laid to rest. Meanwhile, public attention turned toward Rosario Ponce, whose reaction to the discovery fueled further controversy.
In interviews, Rosario denied accusations of foul play, claiming the tragedy was a simple accident. However, her vague and defensive remarks only heightened suspicion. Discrepancies in her earlier statements resurfaced, including her claim that she had stopped using her phone on April 4—contradicted by evidence of phone activity on April 5 and 6. Additionally, Rosario’s refusal to provide certain items of Ciro Castillo’s clothing and all requested hair samples deepened doubts about her credibility.
The Prosecutor’s Findings: A Shocking Allegation
In November 2012, over a year after Ciro’s body was found, the prosecutor issued her conclusions. She alleged that Rosario Ponce had pushed Ciro off the cliff during a moment of intense emotion. Forensic expert Roberto Parra supported this hypothesis, noting that Ciro Castillo’s injuries indicated external force, consistent with being pushed rather than falling accidentally.
The discovery of three gloves at the scene added to the theory. Two gloves, worn by Ciro, were confirmed to belong to Rosario, while the third was believed to have been lost during a potential struggle. Forensic evidence suggested that Ciro had died on the afternoon of April 5—the same day Rosario later claimed was the last time she saw him.
Additional suspicion arose from testimony by María Teresa Pilco, a rescuer who had been among the first to find Rosario. Pilco recalled that Rosario mentioned knowing Ciro Castillo had fallen and suffered fractures in his arm and leg—details that raised questions about how she could have known this information.
The Legal Battle Continues
The prosecutor’s conclusions shocked Rosario’s family and legal team. While Rosario’s father denounced the findings as baseless, her mother accused the prosecutor of bias. Under Peruvian law, the case moved into a second phase, requiring the prosecutor to present detailed evidence and justify her suspicions before a judge.
As the investigation continued, the case remained a source of intense public scrutiny, dividing opinions and leaving unanswered questions about what truly happened to Ciro Castillo on that fateful day in April.
As the case against Rosario Ponce progressed, the prosecutor, María del Rosario Lozada, was tasked with providing detailed evidence to substantiate her theory. She needed to clarify how Rosario might have pushed Siro—whether physically or using an object. This phase of the investigation marked a crucial turning point, determining whether Rosario would stand trial for her alleged role in Siro’s death.
Preventive detention was an option available to the prosecutor, but it required meeting stringent conditions under Peru’s New Criminal Procedure Code. These included proving Rosario posed a flight risk and that the potential sentence exceeded four years. The case’s timeline became an additional hurdle, with the preparatory investigation phase limited to 120 days. Although extensions of 60 days or up to eight months could be granted, they required judicial approval, complicating the proceedings.
The Castillo Family’s Pursuit of Justice
The Castillo family’s lawyer, Juan de Dios Medina, emphasized the importance of reaffirming forensic and anthropological findings, including evidence that suggested Siro had been pushed. Efforts were also made to match hair samples and corroborate witness testimonies that contradicted Rosario’s version of events.
By mid-2013, however, the prosecutor’s office announced that the extensive investigation had failed to produce irrefutable evidence to charge Rosario with Siro’s death. They recommended closing the case.
The decision to close the case devastated Siro’s father, who vowed to fight on. He formally opposed the closure, but despite his appeals, the judge upheld the decision, which was later confirmed by the Court of Appeals. Siro’s father publicly expressed his profound disappointment, calling the closure a gross injustice after nearly three years of investigations and close to 200 pieces of evidence submitted. He criticized the Peruvian state for what he perceived as incompetence in handling the case.
After the case was officially closed, Rosario resumed her life. She rekindled her relationship with Víctor Cabrera, the father of her child, and married him in 2015. Víctor, who was the son of Rosario’s defense attorney Miguel Cabrera, had once been implicated as a possible third party in the Colca Canyon trip, but this theory was ultimately dismissed.
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The Castillo Family’s Continued Struggles
In 2016, tragedy struck the Castillo family once again when Siro’s mother passed away from a heart attack. Meanwhile, Siro’s father pursued a political career, running for various offices. Despite early setbacks, he achieved a significant victory in 2022, becoming the Regional Governor of Callao under the Más Callao movement.
As governor, he garnered nearly 70% of the vote in the second round of elections on December 4, 2022. His policy priorities included improving healthcare infrastructure and creating an anti-crime task force to enhance coordination between the National Police and local security forces.
The case of Siro Castillo left an indelible mark on Peruvian society, sparking widespread public interest. It inspired the creation of a popular miniseries, Siro, el ángel del Colca, which garnered significant viewership, averaging 25.7 points and peaking at 31.7 points in lower-income households.
More than a decade later, the mystery surrounding Siro’s death remains a topic of public fascination. Despite the legal resolution, lingering doubts about Rosario’s involvement persist, and the unanswered questions continue to keep the case alive in the collective memory of Peru.
