Noemí does not fit the classic detective stereotype with a trench coat, hat, and cigarette in a corner. She is the private investigator who, a few days ago, managed to locate Gina, a minor and victim of a complex international parental abduction case. Although she is used to searching for missing persons outside Spain, she had never investigated the case of a young girl before.
Far from a heroic narrative, she recounts the case prudently and without dramatization. In her investigation, there were no big dramatic moves, only intuition, listening, and many hours of work. “To find Gina, I had to understand where her father was operating from,” she states. “Thinking like him was the key.”
Noemí leads Croma Detectives and has over fifteen years of experience in locating missing persons and handling complex investigations, both in Spain and abroad. In this case, before searching for a specific location, she deemed it essential to understand the person who had taken the minor: her history, her shortcomings, and the reasons that could be behind his movements.
Gina’s family turned to her when the case had already been reported and the judicial process activated. The minor had been abducted by her father and presumably taken out of Spain. The official investigation was ongoing, but the timelines did not always match the urgency of the situation.
Before acting independently, Noemí decided to contact the Mossos d’Esquadra directly to find out the status of the case and assess whether it was possible to work in parallel. After an initial moment of caution, a collaboration channel was opened, always respecting each party’s limits: the police investigation, bound by official procedures and international communications, and the private one, with more room to operate on the ground.
This difference was decisive. The security forces could not travel outside Spain to act directly, whereas she could travel, present herself in the country where she suspected the girl was, and begin verifications. Upon arrival, she had to insist that the case be considered by local systems and that communication channels be correctly activated.
Finding Gina was nothing like a movie scene. It was a moment of relief, tension, and contained emotion. “I knew she was close, but until I saw her, I did not allow myself to fully feel it,” she explains. When she confirmed it was her, the joy was immense, but so was the responsibility. Locating her was only part of the process.
After finding the minor, Noemí did not leave. She continued to be involved in the case, worked before the Juvenile Court in Naples to facilitate Gina’s return to Spain, and accompanied her mother, Laia, for more than two weeks through visits, procedures, and waiting. “I couldn’t disappear,” she says. “I had come that far with them, and it made no sense to leave them alone at that moment.”
This accompaniment was not part of any contract or budget. For Noemí, a detective’s work does not necessarily end when a person is located. “There is a afterwards that also matters,” she maintains. She also acknowledges that seeing the family’s pain up close affected her deeply.
The cost of the case was also one of the major dilemmas. The investigation involved international travel, weeks of work, and almost exclusive dedication. Even so, Noemí adjusted her fees to the family’s capabilities. “Not everything can be free, but not everything can be measured in money either,” she states.
Now, as Gina’s case begins to move through the courts, Noemí is already working on the search for another minor outside Spain. She gives few details for caution: “Searches require silence to make progress.”
Gina’s family assures that without her they would not have succeeded. Noemí receives this gratitude discreetly. She says she only did what she believed she had to do: get involved when there was a girl, a mother, and time working against them. That is why she does not describe the case as a victory, but as a responsibility. Finding Gina was essential, but accompanying the family until the end was, according to her, what gave everything meaning.
