Caracal case: Romanian presidential candidates fuel theory that missing girls are still alive

Viorel Catarama, a Romanian investor and the Liberal Right’s candidate for the presidential elections, has decided to offer a reward of EUR 100,000 to the person who will give information that will lead to the finding and release of Luiza Melencu or Alexandra Macesanu, the two girls kidnapped and possibly killed by a man in the town of Caracal this year.

Luiza Melencu went missing in mid-April and was never found while Alexandra Macesanu was reported missing on July 24 and managed to call the emergency number the following day and tell the authorities that she was kidnapped and raped by a man. Policemen raided the house of the main suspect, Gheorghe Dinca, in the morning of July 26 but Alexandra was no longer there.

Dinca admitted to killing both Alexandra and Luiza, and DNA tests confirmed that the human remains found in a barrel in Dinca’s garden during the July 26 searches belong to Alexandra. However, tests on bone fragments found in a nearby forest could not establish an exact DNA profile and thus the experts couldn’t say if they belong to Luiza Melencu, as Dinca claimed.

In this context, several theories have been circulating in Romania, among them the one according to which Gheorghe Dinca was part of a human trafficking network and that the two girls were not killed but taken away by human traffickers. Viorel Catarama is one of those who agree with this theory and thus he has decided to offer a EUR 100,000 reward to anyone who can offer valuable information that would lead to the finding and release of Luiza or Alexandra.

“From the moment the Caracal scandal began, I have announced that I cannot accept the version of a crime, as presented by the authorities. To this day, there has been no evidence beyond reasonable doubt that the two girls were killed. The state institutions are focusing their investigation on the version of a crime, regardless of the public opinion, which is increasingly convinced that we are facing a case of human trafficking. Therefore, I announce that I’m offering a reward of EUR 100,000 to the person who gives information that leades to the finding and release of Luiza or Alexandra,” Catarama wrote on his Facebook page.

Alexandru Cumpanasu, Alexandra Macesanu's uncle, also fuelled the theory that Alexandra is still alive. Cumpanasu has been criticizing the authorities’ slow investigation and fuelled the idea that the authorities wanted to cover up the truth, namely that Alexandra and Luiza were taken by a human trafficking network. He announced he would run for president to battle the corrupt state. Over the weekend, Cumpanasu organized a meeting in Bucharest, in front of the Interior Ministry's headquarters, on the day when Alexandra Macesanu would have turned 16. On this occasion, he gathered signatures for his candidacy and had the participants sing "Happy birthday!" to the missing girl.