A man's search for romance ending in tragedy when he was killed after going for a Tinder date in Colombia on a trip from the US.

Paul Nguyen had travelled from his home in California to the South American country with a friend and was in the city of Medellin when he decided to look for company on the dating app on November 10, Vice News reported.

The 27-year-old met up with a stranger he'd matched with on the app a week before in the neighbourhood of El Poblado, known for its trendy bars and restaurants.

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However, he never returned.

Nguyen's travelling companion became concerned after he failed to return to their Airbnb that night and raised the alarm, alerting his family to his disappearance, local newspaper Semana reported.

Nguyen's family revealed on Reddit that his credit card had recorded a number of transactions that evening in the Laureles neighbourhood.

His body was found at a nearby ATM, around five miles away from the original meeting point in El Poblado, just hours after he went to meet the mystery woman.

It is unclear what the exact events leading up to Nguyen's death were, but authorities believe he was drugged and then robbed.

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Nguyen's sister, Amy Nguyen, wrote on a GoFundMe page: "He is a victim of a cruel and senseless crime. These people chose money and greed over a single thought of my brother’s life.

"Paul was my older brother who was always there to take care of me. He was there to support me through my ups and downs. He was my shoulder to cry on. I hope everyone who knew Paul stays strong."

His family added that his PayPal account had been used to make a $500 (£420) transfer at 5am, when Nguyen was still missing, to an account associated with a woman named Natalia Andrea Arias.

Nguyen reportedly posted a photo featuring the woman he'd met to Instagram shortly before his disappearance.

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However, police in Colombia have not arrested anyone or announced a suspect.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to try to bring his body back to California, raising more than $36k (£30k) since it was first established.

Amy continued: "I am working on bringing Paul back to the US for a funeral service.

"Paul deserves to be back home, surrounded by love, family, and friends."

According to Vice, it is not uncommon for tourists to be drugged and robbed by people they've met on dating apps in Colombia.

As recently as August, a woman and two men – Yolima Ortega Montoya, Juan David Muñoz and Juan Sebastián Duarte Monsalve – were arrested in Medellin on suspicion of drugging and robbing several people between December 2020 and January 2021.

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