The remains of a missing young man were found at a construction site after 40 years.

Diego Fernández left home at 2 p.m. on July 26, 1984. Holding a tangerine, he said goodbye to his mother, saying he would visit a friend before going to school.

He never came back.

More than four decades later, in May 2025, workers building a wall at a house in the Coghlan neighborhood of Buenos Aires found buried bones and alerted the police.

Along with the remains were a Casio calculator watch, a keychain, a bow tie, a clothing tag, and a coin.

DNA tests have confirmed the identity of the teenager who had been missing for four decades.

The case received widespread coverage in the Argentine press because, initially, it was reported that the remains were in a house where singer Gustavo Cerati had lived for a time. Later, it was clarified that it was the property next door.

Although the statute of limitations for the crime against Diego has passed, the Argentine courts will investigate the case as homicide to identify the perpetrator and the motive.

Forensic experts assigned to the case found signs of injuries likely caused by a sharp object.

"There are marks on the body compatible with violent death and attempted dismemberment, but which may also be related to the manipulation of the body for burial," Mariella Fumagalli, director of the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF), told the Argentine press.

Diego's mother, now 87, never turned off the home phone, waiting for her son to call one day.

"Until recently, I was looking out the window to see if Diego would come back," Javier Fernández, the missing teenager's brother, told BBC News Mundo, the BBC's Spanish-language service.

Javier recalls the difficulty the family had in dealing with the uncertainty surrounding what happened to Diego, a key soccer player for Club Atlético Excursionistas.

"I grew up with tremendous chest pain; it's been agony," says Javier, from Buenos Aires, his voice breaking. "Diego was my idol. I was 10 years old, we played soccer, and he would take penalties in my room."

Over the past few days, he'd experienced a chaotic mix of emotions. When he received the news, he could hardly believe what was happening.

"I felt anger, helplessness, sadness, and at the same time, joy, because I found my brother 41 years later." The discovery, says Javier, will at least allow the family to give him a dignified burial.

"When they give me his body, I will be able to say goodbye in peace, as he deserves," he says.

"Poor guy, he was taken from my life, he was everything that was right for me."

The Argentine magazine ¡ Esto ! published an article about the case in 1986, two years after the teenager disappeared.

In it, the father, Juan Benigno Fernández, reported that he wrote down in a notebook all the information that could help locate his son and collected newspaper clippings.

In addition, he began collecting information about the disappearance of other children.

"Since this tragedy happened, I started following the appeals published in newspapers and on television and decided to visit the parents of children reported missing."

An auto parts salesman, the father said that whenever he had an intuition, he would get on his bike and go out to explore the streets in search of his son.

Until one day, he was run over and killed while trying to find Diego, says his son Javier.

Former colleagues testify to the Public Prosecutor's Office

After the remains were identified, the investigation was led by prosecutor Martín López Perrando, who is currently collecting statements from people who can provide relevant information about the case.

Several former classmates of "El Gaita," as Diego was known at school, testified to the prosecutor to provide information that could help clarify the case.

According to the Argentine press, the Public Ministry heard, this Monday (11/08), the testimony of Cristian Graf, Diego's colleague at the National School of Technical Education (Enet), who lived in the house where the remains were found.

Graf's mother still lives in the same house, according to local media.

"The school sends its condolences to the family and respectfully supports them at this difficult time," Enet said in a statement.

The football team Diego played for also expressed their condolences.

"Club Atlético Excursionistas expresses its emotion and sadness at the news about Diego Fernández Lima," reads a text published on the social network X. "We send our condolences and a big hug to the entire family."

Numerous expressions of solidarity reached the teenager's family.

Brother Javier, who fights back tears whenever he remembers Diego, says that despite the pain, the discovery of the remains will help the family close a cycle after decades of uncertainty.

"This will help us be a little more at peace."