Montreal mother desperately searching for son in Peru

Alisa Clamen is heading to Lima, Peru to look for her son, Jesse Galganov, whom she says hasn’t gotten in touch for three weeks.

“I’m worried. I have my fears, but I cannot focus on that,” she insisted.

“The only thing I can think about is finding my son.”

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His father, Todd Galganov, is also on his way to Peru.

Galganov, 22, was on the first leg of an eight-month trip around South American and south-east Asia, planning to later return to start medical school at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

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“He wants to see the whole world and this is what he chose for this trip,” Clamen told Global News.

“That was his dream.”

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Galganov left Montreal on Sept. 24; Clamen said he made sure to stay in close contact with her.

“He texted me on Sept. 28 to say that he would probably be unreachable for a few days, until Oct. 2,” she explained, adding he was planning to do the Santa Cruz Trek.

Clamen hasn’t heard a word from her son since, and says she doesn’t know if he was hiking alone or in a group.

Clamen explained she has filed a report with Montreal police to generate an Interpol presence, as well as with Canadian and U.S. missing persons departments.

“Both governments are cooperating with the Peru government, local forces are mobilized on ground looking for him,” she said.

Clamen said so far, there are no leads on Galganov’s whereabouts, but she hopes that changes once she arrives in Peru.

“My goal is to go there to look for him and to get as many people looking for him as I possibly can, and be on it and make sure the search is as comprehensive and involving as many people as possible,” she said.

“I need to be there to do that. I need to find my son. I need to bring him home.”