Long-missing boy’s father: Police were too hasty in publicizing tip on his whereabouts

Rolandito Salas Jusino (social media)

By The Star Staff

Weeks after law enforcement officials confirmed that a man in Boston was not Rolandito Salas Jusino, who went missing from Toa Alta some 25 years ago, the father of the now young adult, Rolando Salas Cardona, said he believes that local authorities were too hasty in going public with information without having scientifically confirmed it.

This week, an FBI official said in a televised report that the federal agency had ruled out back in December that the man residing in Boston was Rolandito and informed the island Department of Public Safety (DSP by its initials in Spanish), Interpol and the Puerto Rico Police Bureau of its findings, according to a televised report. Local police have said the FBI did not inform them of the findings.

“Possibly, they are mixing these two people and believing that it is one […] [but] if they are the same person, then it is evident that they are doing a terrible job, but I give them the benefit of the doubt,” Salas Cardona said in a radio report.

Nonetheless, he said, he recognized that the authorities had good intentions in attempting to determine his son’s whereabouts.

“The important thing is that they are looking for a living person. I do not listen to negative things that citizens may say regarding the case because that would consume me,” Salas Cardona said on the ‘Pega’os en la Mañana’ program. “However, we have faith in God, which is our best decision. People’s comments do hurt a little, out there on the street, when they speak disparagingly.”

However, DSP Secretary Alexis Torres Ríos denied that the FBI had notified him that Rolandito was not the young man under investigation.

“I can tell you that at no time did anyone tell [me], Alexis Torres, […] [did] anyone from the FBI contact me to tell me otherwise,” he said. “[…] Well, I’m going to tell you, Alexis Torres, I was not told any of that information that he is mentioning to me right now.”

In June of this year, tips received by Interpol Puerto Rico identified a young man in Boston with physical characteristics and a birthmark similar to those of Rolandito. However, blood tests later showed that he was not the missing boy.