Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
The wife of an American cyclist who has been missing for over two weeks is searching for him 20 hours a day.
Matt Opperman was last known to be in the Segura de la Sierra region of Jaen around January 25. His black Volkswagen van is now located.
But despite hundreds of volunteers searching, including twice over the weekend, there have been no leads.
His brother Marc Opperman told the Olive Press today that there were ‘no real updates.’
He said: “The wilderness around Segura de la Sierra was traversed both by the Guardia Civil, and between 100 and 150 volunteers. Some volunteers rappelled down cliffs, while others biked or hiked.
“The Guardia Civil employed drones, helicopters and even dogs to search for evidence. No evidence was discovered. “No hospital records exist for him.”
He said: “We are focusing our effort on the nearby villages and shelters. A GoFundMe account to support the searchers with supplies and food had a goal of €4,000, but surpassed it quickly with a total of €6,500 before the organiser stopped taking donations.
His wife has worked 20-hour or longer days to coordinate searches and consolidate the information. We have been in constant contact with her and are grateful for all her efforts.
He added that the rest of the family will fly out to Spain when they ‘know something concrete’.
Marc has previously said Olive Press“We all are worried beyond belief but support each other as we can.”
He said that his brother was 6ft4 with blue eyes, and weighed around 200lbs. Contrary to reports in the local press, he did not speak Spanish fluently.
Marc said: “His professional work with various bike companies – Trek Factory Racing, Rocky Mountain Cycles, and now Yeti Cycles – has always had him traveling the globe in support of professional riders.
He’s a respected and well-liked head mechanic who has worked with many teams including the Australian MTB Team at the Rio Olympics of 2016.
It was not unusual for him to spend the majority of the summer racing season in a different part of the world every week. Most of his work was done in Western Europe.
Matt’s family is originally from Ohio. He lived in Houston, Texas as well as Longmont, Colorado for most of his cycling career, both professionally and personally.
He added: “He rides long distances several times a day, and competes on a regular basis. As part of SpainDH he has amassed a lot of friends… many of whom are part of the volunteer search parties happening this weekend.
The Yeti electric mountain bike in turquoise and orange that he rode when he disappeared is the bike he was riding at the time.
