Just as it happened in the «kiss cam» from that Coldplay recital where hundreds of factors caused an infidelity between a boss and his employee to be revealed to the world, something similar happened in Chile this weekend, but in mountainous terrain. What seemed like a miracle rescue in the Cajón del Maipo It became a suspicious love plot when the identities of the three rescued people became known.
Manuel Orellana32 years old, known as The Chinese, Martina Muñoz21, and Magdalena Retamal31, had left the Chilean capital on July 16 for the Termas Valle de Colina, but a strong snow storm left them trapped in a shelter located near that Andean canyon.
Only six days later were they rescued, thanks to the fact that their families filed missing persons reports and after reconstructing the last thing they knew about each one, they came to the conclusion that they could be stranded in the mountains without the possibility of communicating.
The Carabineros, the Investigative Police and also members of the Army, Socorro Andino and the National Service for Prevention and Response to Disasters, participated in the operation, which was recorded in a video shared on the social network
📍 Cajón del Maipo: Thanks to the coordinated work and the operation carried out by our specialized teams from the GOPE and the Air Prefecture, the people who were lost in the sector were successfully located and rescued.
A work that reflects the commitment,… pic.twitter.com/bMlyvTelfp— APRA ARAUCANíA 👍🏽🇨🇱 (@aprachile) July 22, 2026
Until then, everything seemed like good news, but then the Chilean media discovered that the girls were teachers at the kindergarten where Orellana’s 8-year-old son, who is married to a woman named Génesis, went. The impact was such that he even gave an interview on Channel 13 in Chile.
The man said that his entire family is a livestock dealer and that he knew them as «the garden aunts,» that they are neighbors in the neighborhood who always cross paths and that their bond is «just friends.» «They wanted to go there because they never went, they wanted to take a photo and I know the area very well,» he said.
«Everything is good, always good vibes with them, like friends,» he insisted. However, his words did not settle the plot and chronology of that meeting, which he claims was by chance, and led to the decision to go to the mountains together.
What the three rescued in the Cajón del Maipo said to the police authorities
According to the media BioBioChilethe three provided detailed statements to detectives once the rescue efforts were completed.
Their sayings allow us to reconstruct for the first time what motivated the trip to the mountain and how they managed to survive for almost a week.
The same media indicates that their version of events to the Investigative Police, far from elaborate planning, refers to a night out that had an unforeseen event and plans changed at the time.
Orellana said that on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 15, he was in Santiago, he had had a few beers and a bottle of gin with a group of friends, among them would be the teacher Martina Muñoz, whom he knew as the sister of a childhood friend, and Magdalena Retamal, the teacher at the kindergarten where one of his youngest children attended.
They went to the exclusive Terrazielo nightclub, located in the upper sectors of the Peñalolén commune. The guards at the venue did not let Orellana enter because of the venue’s «dress code#» and relied on the right of admission.
The stories of the three people to the PDI coincide and reveal that that was where the idea of continuing the night in the Cajón del Maipo arose, but it was only the three of them.
They said that on the way they bought alcoholic beverages to consume before the climb and regarding drug consumption their stories were different.
«The man admitted to having smoked marijuana with Martina and, according to his version, Magdalena would have consumed cocaine before entering the mountain area,» reveals the Chilean media.
After midnight, when they were in the San Gabriel sector and planned to continue advancing towards the hot springs, the rain began to intensify.
At that time, the vehicle in which they were traveling had problems adhering due to the snow and mud. «Given the risk, as an expert in the area, Orellana told the two women to abandon the car and go to a nearby shelter, whose door was open,» they revealed.
Fortunately, they found the necessary tools to survive in that cabin, which had some food, a salamander for heating, beds, and some warm clothing.
Sources close to the investigation told BioBioChile that both Martina and Magdalena ruled out having been victims of any crime or having remained against their will with Orellana.
On the contrary, Martina emphasized in her testimony that the man was decisive in keeping the three alive and said that Orellana crossed to another building to look for more blankets, firewood and shelter to face the low temperatures.
The controversy over the costs of the millionaire rescue
After almost a week isolated, they heard the noise of a helicopter flying over the mountain, which corresponded to the search operation.
In the midst of the scandal and the media debate over the story of those involved, the director of Public Security and Inspection of the Municipality of San José de Maipo, Felipe Armijo, questioned whether Orellana, the women had gone to the place despite the weather conditions and estimated that the rescue operation cost more than 100,000 dollars.
«Although today we are happy because they were rescued alive, we have to analyze the high cost and call for it not to continue happening, we have to be aware of that,» Armijo stressed in statements to Channel 13.
«All the people who participated in the rescue could have been helping other people who really needed it due to an emergency and not because of recklessness,» he concluded.
