The Impossible Rescue: Frida Sofía, The Trapped Little Girl That Never Existed

A little girl supposedly trapped in the rubble of a Mexico City school knocked down by a powerful quake this week never existed, denying a story that had all of Mexico watching and spiked international media attention.

She reportedly wiggled her fingers, told rescuers her name and said there were others trapped near her. Rescue workers called for tubes, pipes and other tools to reach her.

News media, officials and volunteer rescuers all repeated the story of “Frida Sofia” with an urgency that turned it into national drama, drawing attention away from other rescue efforts across the city and leaving people in Mexico and all over the world glued to their televisions.

When a rescue worker raises his fists, he is asking for silence. Here, a man gives the sign during the search for students after an earthquake at Enrique Rebsamen school in Mexico City (photo: Reuters).

The rescuers tirelessly scanned every inch of the collapsed school, where it was claimed that Sofía studied. The story was backed by the claims of some of the naval officers assisting in the search that the girl was seen moving her hand.

But even as Frida Sofía gained fame around the world, her story quickly began to fall apart. Government officials never confirmed the identity of such a child. The insisted no student was registered at the school under that name.

The secretary of education also said authorities had been unable to locate any parents of a girl identified in widespread Mexican media reports as the 12-year-old Frida Sofía.

And still, the world held its breath, and media from all over showed support.

https://twitter.com/newnewspage/status/910828703101448192

The story of the missing girl had inspired the hashtag #FridaSofia, which trended on Twitter. Mexicans captivated by the story shared it as a spark of optimism and hope across social media.

A lot of the story appeared to be fabricated by broadcasting giant Televisa, they said on social media that the girl told rescue workers that she was with five other classmates. Reporter Danielle Dithurbide even said at one point that she was standing next to the little girl’s family.

Televisa reporter Danielle Dithurbide was at the site of the supposed rescue, but she never had access to the actual rubble were rescuers were looking, she just went by what the Navy was telling her along the way. She even mentioned that Frida Sofía’s family was standing next to her at one point of the transmission (photo: Notimex).

Then, in an update, assistant Navy secretary Angel Enrique Sarmiento said: “Frida Sofía” is not real and explained there was evidence of a person who may still be alive, but it was probably a school worker. Government officials also confirmed that no girl by the name of “Frida Sofía” was registered at the school.

Sarmiento said a camera lowered into the rubble of the Enrique Rebsamen school showed blood tracks where an injured person apparently dragged himself or herself, and the only person still listed as missing was a school employee. But it was just blood tracks, no fingers wiggling, no voice, no name.

Sarmiento later apologized for being so categorical, saying that if a person is still trapped it could be a child or an adult.

News that there apparently was no living girl under the rubble prompted a new social media eruption, but this time of outrage.