The anguish continues over the 66-year-old Spaniard who has been missing since last Tuesday, when he fell overboard from the sailboat he was sailing with his wife during a voyage from Sicily to Greece. Businessman Juan José Mutilba Obregón Mutilba had set sail from Syracuse alongside his 67-year-old wife, Carmen, bound for Pylos. According to accounts shared by the family with Spanish media, the trip was progressing normally until Tuesday morning, when the 66-year-old fell into the sea.
The couple was several miles from shore at the time. The man had just caught a tuna, and according to the family, while he was cleaning it he slipped — most likely on the fish’s blood — and plunged into the water.
“Menchu, turn off the engine” — the last cry of the 66-year-old Spaniard
His wife heard her husband shouting “Menchu, Menchu, turn off the engine,” but as their son Sergio describes, she froze and was unable to react in time.
Buscan a Juan José Mutilba, un empresario español de 68 años que cayó de su barco en aguas de Italia: su familia pide ayuda para encontrarlo pic.twitter.com/6wcdO1D0tz
— Informativos Telecinco (@informativost5) August 23, 2026
The sailboat continued moving, drifting ever further from the spot where the 66-year-old had gone overboard. Carmen held a recreational boat captain’s license, but as the family explains, the conditions were such that she was unable to take control of the vessel and return to the location.
Three days of anguish followed.
The 67-year-old woman repeatedly tried to contact emergency services, but found herself in an area with no mobile phone signal. She remained alone on the sailboat with food and water, but with no way to alert the authorities about what had happened.
Meanwhile, a family friend who was familiar with the couple’s sailing routes and had experience in navigation began to suspect that something had gone wrong. He noticed that the vessel had deviated significantly from its planned course and attempted to contact them — without success.
The wife of the 66-year-old regained signal after three days — the operation that brought the sailboat to Pylos
It was not until Friday — three days after the 66-year-old Spaniard fell into the sea — that Carmen managed to find a signal again and contacted the family friend.
An alert was immediately raised. The Spanish Maritime Rescue Service notified the corresponding Italian and Greek authorities, and a search operation was launched to locate the vessel and find the missing man.
According to information from the Hellenic Coast Guard, the sailboat — flying a French flag — was spotted approximately 18 nautical miles from Pylos, drifting without any control.
Two Coast Guard patrol vessels, a land patrol vehicle, and the fishing vessel IOANNA-MARINA rushed to the scene.
The 67-year-old woman was found to be in good health. The sailboat was brought under control and, with the assistance of the fishing vessel and a Coast Guard escort, was safely guided into the marina at Pylos.
She had, however, already endured three full days alone at sea — unable to communicate with anyone and consumed by fear over her husband’s fate.
The missing man’s family urges search efforts to continue
The operation to locate the 66-year-old Spaniard is ongoing, with the family calling for the search to continue and for additional resources to be deployed.
His son Sergio has traveled to Pylos and is trying to stay informed on the progress of the search. As he told Spanish media, the family has limited information about what resources are being used and how extensive the operation is.
Un empresario español desaparece tras caer de su barco entre Sicilia y Grecia: su mujer pasó tres días a la deriva y le oyó gritar “¡Menchu, apaga el motor!”
Juan José Mutilba, de 66 años, se precipitó al mar tras resbalar mientras pescaba un atún durante una travesía entre…— Julián José Ahijado (@ahijadojj) August 23, 2026
Mutilba was a businessman from Burgos, Spain. He had worked in the IT sector and served as the head of D’ors Informática, before later moving into water distribution through his company Mutobre S.L.
After taking early retirement, sailing had become one of his primary pursuits. Together with his wife, he would take their sailboat on voyages across the Mediterranean and other parts of Europe, having spent the last several months travelling between Italy, France, and Greece.
The journey to Pylos was just another one of those trips — except that this time, a single moment on deck dramatically changed the couple’s lives, and left the 66-year-old missing somewhere at sea.
