Loved ones are now speaking out as authorities continue to search for American Airlines flight attendant Eric Fernando Gutierrez Molina

Eric Fernando Gutierrez Molina, American Airlines flight attendant who went missing during a layover in Medellin, Colombia

Eric Fernando Gutierrez Molina, American Airlines flight attendant who went missing during a layover in Medellin, Colombia.Credit : Alejandro Murcia/X

New details are emerging as loved ones of an American Airlines flight attendant who disappeared in Colombia are speaking out.

Eric Fernando Gutierrez Molina, 32, disappeared during a layover in Medellín. He vanished after a night of partying in the El Poblado neighborhood from late Saturday, March 21, into the morning of Sunday, March 22, according to local television channel Telemedellín.

At a press conference on Thursday, March 26, Manuel Villa Mejía, secretary of security of Medellín, said the flight attendant, who is based in Dallas-Fort Worth, went out with a male and female coworker and then headed with the woman and other unknown people to another establishment, according to NBC affiliate KXAS.

Officials said those individuals, whose names have not been released, have previously used a drug known as scopolamine, or “devil’s breath,” to commit thefts.

Investigators have identified vehicles and phones used by the suspects, but have not said if they were questioned or arrested, according to KXAS.

Ernesto Carranza, Molina’s longtime partner, said he is “shattered” by the flight attendant’s disappearance, CBS News reported.

“I want to believe that he’s alive, and I want to continue believing that he’s alive,” Carranza said, “but throughout each day you wake up not knowing anything, and it makes the days go by longer and slower.”

Carranza and Sharom Gil, Molina’s best friend, told CBS News they last communicated with Molina on Saturday night. Molina claimed he was going out with coworkers that evening, they said.

But Carranza said he grew concerned after he was unable to reach Molina on Sunday morning. He later learned Molina’s phone pinged at two locations that “were nowhere near” the flight attendant’s hotel.

Additionally, Gil said Molina’s female colleague said she could not recall parts of the night. “We don’t want to disclose anything that happened to her, but she was also a victim of whatever Fernando is going through right now,” the friend stated.

Carranza said Molina’s dad has since traveled to Colombia to help with the search for his son, according to CBS News.

In a statement previously obtained by PEOPLE, American Airlines said, “We are actively engaged with local law enforcement officials in their investigation and doing all we can to support our team member’s family during this time.”

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants tells PEOPLE they are “actively supporting all efforts to help locate our missing colleague in Colombia.”

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