Enrique Alfonso Severo, the ex-railway worker and key witness in the Mariano Ferreyra murder trial who went missing on Wednesday night, was found alive yesterday in Gerli, a neighbourhood of the Avellaneda district. The discovery comes after a nationwide manhunt and dramatic protests in the capital.

Severo, a former manager for the railway company Ferrobaires, was due to testify yesterday at noon in the ongoing trial of José Pedraza, general secretary of the Railway Union (UF) and Juan Carlos Fernández, his assistant, who are accused of organizing the clash on 20th October 2010 that left Partido Obrero (PO) militant Mariano Ferreyra dead. Of the more than 300 witnesses in the trial, Severo is believed to hold the key evidence linking Pedraza and Fernández to those who carried out the murder.

Ferreyra and other PO activists were protesting on 20th October 2010 with outsourced railway workers, known as “tercerizados”, on the Roca line in the south of the city. The protesters, who were demanding equal pay and benefits as fulltime employees, were met by a gang of unionized railway workers, who followed them as the protest moved to Barracas. Violence broke out between the two groups near the Constitución train station, in a clash that left Ferreyra dead and another PO militant, Elsa Rodriguez, seriously injured.

The suspected shooters are Cristian Favale and Gabriel Fernando Sánchez, football hooligans with ties to political and union violence. Several police officers are also on trial for failing to stop the attack.

Severo left his home around 11.30pm on Wednesday night to visit his grandson but never made it to his intended destination. After failing to appear at his testimony on Thursday at noon, Minister of Security Nilda Garré called for a nationwide search. Various left-wing and social organizations, spearheaded by the PO, marched on the Plaza de Mayo last night demanding an end to the kidnapping of witnesses.

The situation echoed the disappearance of Jorge Julio López in 2006, key witness in the trial against ex-director general of police investigations for Buenos Aires province Miguel Etchecolatz. López disappeared before his scheduled appearance in court and remains missing to this day.

After an anonymous call to 911 on Thursday night, Severo was found outside of a taxi station in Gerli, his hands bound with plastic ties and showing signs of physical abuse. Earlier in the day, police had located his car, with the keys placed in a nearby street. Severo was taken to nearby Finochietto de Sarandí hospital and stated that he does not know who is responsible for the kidnapping.

His son, Gastón Severo, told Canal 9 that his father told him he was held captive in a location three blocks from a railway facility used by his former employer, Ferrobaires. He was taken from his car by two armed men on a motorcycle. After a blow to the head, he lost consciousness.

“He’s dehydrated, he’s vomiting and coughing”, Gastón said. “He couldn’t talk much.”

“The message was not for me”, Severo told the press before being taken to the hospital. “It was for the president.”

Severo would not give details of what had occurred during his kidnapping, but vowed that the experience had not deterred him from delivering his testimony. “Whatever happens, I’m going to testify in court”, he affirmed. “Somebody has to do something. I’m going to testify, I’m going to recount everything…I’m not scared.”

His family said they had begun receiving threatening phone calls in the days leading up to the court date. However, since they were never reported, according to the Ministry of Justice, Severo did not qualify for witness protection.