A young man already navigating the world with developmental disabilities was now being targeted for money
En Frías, la vulnerabilidad de un joven con discapacidad intelectual fue convertida en oportunidad por quien encontró su teléfono y exigió dinero por su devolución. Lo que comenzó como la pérdida de un objeto personal derivó en extorsión metódica, hasta que la propia tecnología del dispositivo trazó el camino hacia la responsable. El caso recuerda que los instrumentos digitales pueden tanto exponer a los más frágiles como protegerlos.
- Una mujer exigió $120.000 a la madre de un joven con discapacidad a cambio de devolver su teléfono, enviando fotos del dispositivo como prueba de que lo tenía en su poder.
- La familia enfrentó no solo la pérdida de un bien material, sino la presión de una coerción económica dirigida deliberadamente contra quien menos podía defenderse.
- La policía activó el rastreo de geolocalización en tiempo real y localizó la señal del teléfono en un domicilio del barrio Sumampa, ejecutando un allanamiento con orden judicial.
- Silvia Alejandra Videla, de 20 años, fue detenida con el teléfono en su poder y quedó imputada por encubrimiento y extorsión, mientras la causa continúa su curso judicial.
El 5 de junio, un joven de 25 años con discapacidad intelectual perdió su Samsung Galaxy S21 FE cerca de la intersección de San Martín y Rioja, en Frías. Su madre, María Belén Correa, radicó la denuncia. Lo que parecía un extravío pronto tomó otro cariz.
Días después, una mujer comenzó a contactar a Correa por WhatsApp con una exigencia concreta: $120.000 a cambio de devolver el teléfono. Para demostrar que lo tenía, envió fotografías del dispositivo. La extorsión era calculada y apuntaba a una familia que ya cargaba con sus propias dificultades.
La unidad de Robos y Hurtos recurrió a la geolocalización en tiempo real para rastrear el aparato. La señal los condujo a una vivienda en el barrio Sumampa. Con orden judicial, los efectivos allanaron el lugar, recuperaron el teléfono y detuvieron a Silvia Alejandra Videla, de 20 años, quien quedó imputada por encubrimiento y extorsión.
El caso expone una doble dimensión: la fragilidad de quienes, por su condición, se convierten en blanco fácil, y la eficacia de las herramientas digitales para revertir ese desequilibrio. La causa sigue abierta, a la espera de que la justicia evalúe el alcance de la responsabilidad.
On the evening of June 5th, a 25-year-old man with developmental disabilities lost his phone—a Samsung Galaxy S21 FE in lilac—somewhere near the intersection of San Martín and Rioja in Frías. His mother, María Belén Correa, filed a report. What began as a missing device quickly became something darker.
Within days, a woman began messaging Correa through WhatsApp. The demand was specific: $120,000 to get her son's phone back. To prove she had it, the woman sent photographs of the device. The extortion was methodical, calculated. A young man already navigating the world with developmental disabilities was now being targeted for money he didn't have.
But the phone itself became the evidence. Police from the Robbery and Theft unit used real-time geolocation data to track the device's location. The signal led them to a house on Chaco and Estrada in the Sumampa neighborhood. When officers arrived, a woman answered the door. She was the one they were looking for.
With a judicial warrant in hand, police executed a search of the residence. They found the phone and arrested Silvia Alejandra Videla, 20 years old. The device was recovered intact. Videla was taken into custody and charged with receiving stolen property—encubrimiento, in the legal language of the jurisdiction.
The case illustrates a particular vulnerability: a young man with developmental disabilities, already dependent on others for certain kinds of support, became prey to someone who saw an opportunity. His mother had to navigate not just the loss of property but the threat of financial coercion. The phone, in the end, was just the object. The crime was the exploitation.
Geolocation technology, designed to help people find lost devices, became the tool that caught the person who took it. The investigation moved quickly once the digital trail was established. Videla's arrest closed one chapter, but the case remains open in the courts, where questions of intent, knowledge, and culpability will be weighed.
Notable Quotes
The suspect communicated through WhatsApp with the victim's mother, demanding $120,000 in exchange for returning the phone— Police investigation summary
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why target someone with developmental disabilities specifically? Was this random, or did the suspect know something about the victim?
The source doesn't say whether Videla knew about Nahuel's condition beforehand. It's possible she saw an opportunity—a phone, a moment of vulnerability—and acted. Or it's possible she knew exactly who she was taking from. Either way, it's a choice to then demand money from his mother.
How did the mother know to use geolocation? That's not something everyone thinks to do.
She must have had access to the phone's location services through her own account or device. Many parents of adult children with disabilities maintain that kind of access for safety reasons. In this case, it became the thread that unraveled the whole thing.
The suspect sent photos of the phone. Why would someone do that if they're trying to hide?
It's proof of possession. It's leverage. She was saying: I have what you want, and I'm not bluffing. It's a tactic in extortion—show the goods, make the demand credible. But it also leaves a digital trail. Every message, every image, becomes evidence.
What happens to Videla now?
She's been charged and detained. The case moves through the courts. Whether she faces additional charges beyond encubrimiento—extortion, for instance—depends on how the prosecutor frames the WhatsApp demands. The law has to catch up to what actually happened.