SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Flavio Bolsonaro’s clandestine escape to the United States (US) bewildered Brazil and triggered a frantic search for his whereabouts.

The Supreme Court had ordered the son of jailed ex-leader Jair Bolsonaro to forfeit his passports after his electoral loss on Sunday, amid fears he would leave the country due to ongoing investigations against him.

But the defeated right-wing presidential candidate failed to hand them in, choosing instead to flee to the US via Argentina and Ecuador.

AFP takes a look at the frenzied 24-hours that left the world scratching its head as Bolsonaro went off the grid.

– Refuses to concede –

Bolsonaro makes a brief, stone-faced speech from Brasilia on Sunday night following his electoral defeat to leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

He refuses to recognise the result and promises to seek an annulment of the election.

– Exit blocked –

The next day, the 45-year-old posts a video on Instagram, speaking outdoors in front of a bare wall.

He tells his followers that the Supreme Court has banned him from leaving the country in “a clear attempt to intimidate me.”

“I never had any intention of leaving the country. I will surrender my passports and defend myself against this travesty,” he adds, also pledging to serve as leader of the opposition.

The senator is under investigation in several cases, including for alleged corruption and money laundering linked to the production of “Dark Horse,” a biopic about his father.

– Vacant vehicle –

On Tuesday, the Argentine outlet Infobae reports that Bolsonaro plans to board a flight in the northeastern city of Puerto Iguazu.

Journalists, including AFP, witnessed Bolsonaro’s official motorcade leaving his Brasilia residence.

It is initially impossible to know whether one of the three black cars is carrying him.

Local media reports the dispersal of the motorcade soon afterwards, while the driver of the middle vehicle — usually transporting the politician — rolls down the window and shows that no one is on board.

– Going dark –

As speculation runs rampant, a police source confirms the cancellation of Bolsonaro’s Brazilian and diplomatic passports to AFP.

American media meanwhile reports that the defeated candidate is en route to the US.

Back in Brazil, confusion reigns, and Bolsonaro’s campaign manager says he has no idea where his boss is.

“I received a text message from him this morning, where he said he would let some time pass today and then would talk with us, and that was it,” a dumbfounded Rogerio Marinho tells the press in Brasilia.

“That was the only communication we had.”

– Hopping borders –

It turns out that while the world had been speculating on his whereabouts, Bolsonaro is still in Brazil.

He only crosses the border into Argentina at 0150 GMT on Wednesday, the neighbouring country’s immigration authorities announce — over 12 hours after the first reports emerge that he has left.

The senator enters Argentina “with valid travel documents, and no legal impediment” via the Tancredo Neves International Bridge linking the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguaçu with Puerto Iguazu, Argentine authorities say.

It remains unknown how he got there from Brasilia, more than 1,500 kilometres away.

– Flight –

A private jet then whisks Bolsonaro and his family to Ecuador’s port city of Guayaquil, Argentine immigration authorities say.

The plane makes a brief refuelling stop at the virtually empty airport.

AFP reporters witness the aircraft taking off again, and the FlightAware website shows that it is heading to Miami.

Some 927,000 people track its course via the website Flightradar.

– Arrival –

Around 12 hours after their departure from Argentina, the Bolsonaro family hits the tarmac at Florida’s Opa-Locka airport.

Flavio Bolsonaro wears a black shirt and shoulders a backpack as he disembarks the plane alongside his wife and two daughters, AFP observes.

Minutes later, a vehicle carries the family away from the airport.