A pair of cousins, Christian Maldonado and George Velez, were just 27 and 32 years old, respectively, when they disappeared together in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on a cold winter day, on December 28, 2002. The 20-year anniversary of their disappearance is approaching in about one month.
The last known whereabouts for the cousin pair is Maldonado’s residence, located at 266 South 27th Street in Camden, New Jersey. The pair allegedly departed from Maldonado’s home and went to a now-defunct exotic dance club named Dangerous Curves, located at 5921 Tacony Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The vehicle they had used as transportation on the night of their disappearance, a blue 1992 Toyota, was found in a Philadelphia junkyard.
An extensive search was done for Maldonado and Velez, to no avail.
The weather on the day of the cousins’ disappearance was chilly, with a high of 40°F and a low of 26°F and clear skies.
At the time of writing this article, there are few public details on this case. I wanted to delve deep to bring this socially stale case to surface. Since this sudden, mysterious duo disappearance happened before social media was popularized, the case has not yet received much awareness. Let’s take advantage of today’s social networking and shed light on this buried case.
Maldonado and Velez may have ties to Chicago, Illinois and Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
Maldonado, as shown in the photo below, can be described as a Hispanic male who is 5’6″ in height and weighed about 185 pounds when he was last seen. On his left arm is a tattoo of a dragon. Born on September 12, 1975, Maldonado would currently be 47 years old.
Velez, as shown in the photo below, is a Hispanic male who stands at 5’7″ height and weighed about 240 pounds when he was last seen. He was born on July 18, 1970, making him 52 years old today.
I have also listed this disappearance on a map I have created for all missing people in the state of New Jersey whose cases are over 10 months old. You can view this map by clicking here.
If you have any information regarding this case, please contact the Camden County Police Department at (856) 757-7440 and ask to speak to Detective Maria Holmes. Please mention case number 021230178.
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