‘The Search’s True Story Is More Shocking Than the Netflix Series

The most horrifying new addition on Netflix isn’t a scary movie. It’s a Spanish-language limited series. The Search revolves around one terrifying night when a young girl disappears from her bedroom in the middle of the night. There are no signs of forced entry. There’s only pain and mystery. There are a lot of terrifying moments in The Search, but the scariest one is undoubtably the fact that this shocking story is based on a real crime.

March 21, 2010 should have been like every other night for the Gebara Farah family. Their daughter, four-year-old Paulette Gebara Farah, was put to bed by her mother Lizette Farah. But when one of Paulette’s two nannies came to wake her the next morning Paulette was nowhere to be found. Paulette’s disappearance launched a massive, weeklong search by her family. Yet what actually happened to her was far more bizarre than the lack of evidence at the crime scene.

Nine days after her disappearance, Paulette’s dead body was found in her bedroom. She was found wrapped in sheets between the mattress and the foot of her bed. The child’s own mother had given several interviews in the room where her body was, which was only discovered due to its smell.

Later it was ruled that Paulette Gebara Farah died of asphyxiation. Paulette, who had physical disabilities and a language disorder, slept every night with an orthopedic cloth over her face. It is believed that this cloth is what led to her death. There were no signs of physical or sexual violence.

After Paulette’s death was discovered her mother Lizette Farah was issued a restraining order against the rest of her family. Farah has long maintained that she had nothing to do with her daughter’s death, but specialists have alleged that Farah suffered from a personality disorder. To this day it’s still unknown exactly what happened the night of Paulette’s death.

Watch The Search on Netflix