“Difficult environments” • Low dead – one kilometer from the place where the car was parked
The elderly couple from Mjölby who were out on a mushroom excursion were reported missing on Monday. Police searched the area with large resources for several days but ended their active operation on Wednesday when it was determined that the couple could no longer be alive.
However, the Missing People organization continued its search effort and finally found the couple, who were then dead, below a precipice just over a kilometer from the place where the couple had parked their car.
The police have described the place where the couple was found as “a valley depression with thick trees and dense forest”.
– We had 257 people who participated in the search, says Lotta Klang Bergström, mission leader for Missing People, to TV4 Nyheterna.
Despite the couple being found in the area where the police had searched with, among other things, drones, helicopters and thermal imaging cameras, the police were unable to find the couple. But that does not surprise rescue researcher and university lecturer Rebecca Stenberg.
– Once during a search exercise, I had a searcher that was only ten centimeters from my head, but still couldn’t find me, says Rebecca Stenberg.
She gives the example of another older case where a missing woman was found on her own property after several years.
– I don’t think it’s a bit strange. Searching for missing persons, especially in such difficult environments under such conditions, is incredibly difficult, says Rebecca Stenberg.
“Very large area”
She adds that an area of one kilometer in each direction is “very large” even though it may not seem like it. In addition, the search has been made more difficult by the prevailing weather conditions, she believes.
– It’s been cold and rainy, and then the leaves fall, plus it’s not very bright this year.
Stenberg explains that elderly people are also a difficult group to look for.
– A younger person might have been able to climb up to a cliff to make himself more visible, she says.
Missing People: “Fantastic work”
The mission leader for Missing People, Lotta Klang Bergström, pays tribute to the police and everyone who participated in the search for the couple for several days.
– Everyone has really done a fantastic job, she says to TV4 Nyheterna.
– We didn’t have much hope of finding the couple alive when the police ended their search, it is very important for relatives to find the bodies, she continues.