A French couple, from Tarn-et-Garonne, has been missing since March 16 after going hiking on the island of Madeira. Thursday April 4, the body of a woman was found near their place of accommodation.
The Blond family’s vacation turned into a tragedy. Went for a hike on the island of Madeira, Saturday March 16, the two parents have not given any sign of life to their youngest daughter, who was awaiting their return, since that day. Thursday April 4, the body of a woman was found early in the evening by an English walker, reports The Parisian. “The condition of the body did not allow us to identify the person, but the clothing, shoes and probable date of death make us 95%, even 99%, sure that it is the missing French tourist”, explained Luis Simoes, the regional commander of the Portuguese police in Funchal, to the French daily.
Last week, the couple’s eldest daughter, who had not accompanied him on vacation, had given up hope. “We have to face the facts, the chances are very slim of finding them alive,” she lamented at the microphone of BFMTV.
Research to find a second body
While the island is subject to a storm warning from this Friday, emergency services have begun to remove the body, located about 150 meters below a path, near where the family resided. Searches to find a second body which could belong to the father have also been launched. “We think that the husband’s remains may be nearby and that for one reason or another they fell,” suggested Luis Simoes, adding that the area of the rental house had been searched. from the first day by the police, but the bodies had not been found “due to the uneven terrain and dense vegetation at this location”.
The Parisian relays that the path where the first body was discovered “is an old path”, according to the Portuguese police spokesperson. The poorly maintained path was very muddy these days due to the heavy rains that have been falling on the island for around ten days.
In France, investigations were carried out in the house of bakers from Tarn-et-Garonne. They did not find any element likely to explain the disappearance of the couple. An investigation into a worrying disappearance was opened by the public prosecutor of Montauban and entrusted to the Castelsarrasin search brigade and the Beaumont-de-Lomagne gendarmerie.