Puerto Rico Police reported that Damon Córdova Rivera, 15, was found safe and in good health at noon Friday at the Leonardo Santiago public housing project in Juana Díaz. The teen had escaped on the night of August 27 from the Hogar del Niño Manuel Fernández Juncos, a children’s home in Santurce, along with two other adolescents.
One of those teens later returned to the facility, while the other, 16-year-old Yadiel Torrales Lazú, was killed, raising fears for Córdova Rivera’s safety. Torrales Lazú died after being shot seven times in the legs; his body was found at dusk on Wednesday in a vacant lot in Arroyo. The Homicide Division of the CIC (Criminal Investigations Corps) in Guayama is investigating the motive behind the killing.