Missing hiker (62) found alive in France after eight days of searching

©Claire Dornic via Unsplash

On May 21, a missing Belgian hiker was found alive in France by the volunteer organization Flemish Rescue Dogs and the Rescue Dogs Team Zeeland.

The 62-year-old man, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, was reported missing by his family eight days ago.

When he was found, he was hospitalized. He was in a weak health condition, but has since been stabilized.

The man disappeared on Wednesday, May 13, while visiting family in the French village of Saint-Genou, in central France. He did not return home after a walk, after which his family raised the alarm. Local police immediately launched a large-scale search, including a helicopter and search dogs. The next day, a search notice was distributed and an appeal was made for witnesses. But the man was not immediately found. Each passing day diminished the hope of finding him alive.

But the family didn't give up. They distributed flyers and set out with about 40 volunteers to search for him. On Sunday night, the Flemish Rescue Dogs contacted the family to support them. "We gathered the colleagues together and left immediately," said a volunteer from the organization, who wishes to remain anonymous, in Het Laatste Nieuws.

At the scene, the volunteers received help from local police. For three days, they searched the forests around Saint-Genou until a local resident reinforced them with a drone. With that drone, the man was finally found 25 kilometers from where he was last seen. He had been missing for more than eight days. The hiker was in a worrisome condition and was immediately taken to the hospital.

"The reunion was very emotional," said the volunteer. "His family did not expect to find him alive. We were their last hope. Everyone stood there with tears in their eyes, including us."

The Flemish Rescue Dogs is an organization of volunteers who train their own dogs for searches. Annually, they are only called to search for someone four to five times, and this was only the second time they found someone alive. The Zeeland Rescue Dogs Team was also called in. With three dogs and five squad members, they had been searching the same area since Wednesday.