Daughter tries to prove the death of her father who disappeared at sea in ES 45 years ago

It was around 5 am when the 24-year-old left Manguinhos beach, in Serra, heading to go fishing. On board the small Samburá boat, two other crew members were with him. The end of the day came and they didn’t return. Almost a week later, the bodies of the friends were located, but the searches did not bring relief to the family of journalist Daniela Ramos Ribeiro Proença, who is trying to prove the death of her father who disappeared 45 years ago.

The family found that José Carlos Siqueira Ribeiro, known as Zequinha, had not returned from fishing on the afternoon of October 6, 1979. With him were Rubens Salles Primo, known as Santana, a former football judge, and the 13-year-old teenager. years old, Rubens Salles Cousin Junior, Bolão. That day began the despair and anguish of Daniela’s family.

The first to be found was Bolão, tied to the boat, on the coast of Meaípe, Guarapari, six days after the trip. The following day his father’s body was found in Ponta da Fruta, on the coast of Vila Velha. The three intended to return with a full boat, the sale of which fish would help their families’ income. It is not known what happened to the vessel, but the search was ended ten days after its disappearance.

The step by step of the sinking and the suffering of the families was recorded on the pages of The Gazette. And it was these articles that helped the journalist go to court asking for her father’s death to be officially recognized. Like so many other families whose loved ones have disappeared, Daniela wants to put an end to the mourning that has lasted five decades.

“I need to finish this story. My mother, who died in 2013, spent her life imagining that he was rescued by some ship, or that she woke up on a beach alone, with no memory, which is why she never came home. There was always hope”, says Daniela.

A hope based on the fact that Zequinha was young and an excellent swimmer. And so he would be able to overcome the difficulties imposed by the sea, which did not happen.

Daniela was not 3 years old when her father disappeared. Her brother, his mother’s son from a previous relationship, was 11 years old at the time. Her mother, Silvia Maria Garcia Ramos, was left alone taking care of her two children.

“My mother was a ticket agent at Theatro Carlos Gomes, where she retired. She was an independent, fierce woman, ahead of her time, who raised her two children alone, with great difficulty”, reports Daniela, who in 2017 also lost her brother.

It was in 2020, the year of the pandemic, when she submitted the documents for her wedding to the registry office, that Daniela felt the weight of her story. “I presented my mother’s death certificate, but for my father I had to submit the birth certificate, the only one I had, even though he was not alive. It was a blow.”

In the following months his struggle began. He first gathered documents proving his father’s death — or at least his disappearance — and then requested recognition of presumed death. She believes it was the hope that her father would one day return that did not encourage her mother and uncles to obtain the death certificate.

“Presumed death is a difficult process, you need to gather documents and statements to prove that the person died. In October last year we obtained a favorable opinion from the Public Ministry of Espírito Santo (MPES) and now we await the court’s decision”, he reports.

For Daniela, the document will allow the family to finish Zequinha’s story. “I want to give dignity to my father’s life, his story. Until this happens, there will be a huge void, a sadness that is difficult to explain.”

When she obtains the document, she intends to hold a celebration or a service in honor of Zequinha. “He deserves peace, he deserves to rest. And we too”.

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