Tom Doherty: What we know about retired British doctor missing in French Pyrenees as search called off
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The search for a retired British doctor who went missing while hiking in the French Pyrenees has been called off.
Tom Doherty, 67, from St Albans, was hiking and camping near Col d’Escots on Tuesday 6 August when his family lost contact with him.
The search has been suspended after five days, according to local authorities, but an investigation into his disappearance will continue.
Here’s everything we know about what happened:
SOS text sent to family
Mr Doherty, who his family says is an avid and experienced walker, set off in the Pyrenees on Saturday.
He’d been sending his family pictures of the scenery up until the day he went missing.
Mr Doherty with his daughter, Rachel Doherty. Pic: PA
His daughter Rachel Doherty said the last photo he sent was on Tuesday afternoon and showed clouds coming over the top of a mountain, along with a message saying “bugger”.
“We told him to be careful and urged him to come down,” Ms Doherty said.
The last time his family heard from him was at 7.07pm, when he sent them messages via WhatsApp asking for help, telling them he had fallen and could not move.
The last messages sent from Mr Doherty to his family. Pic: PA
“We’re obviously very worried and extremely concerned for his welfare,” Ms Doherty said.
In an interview with French broadcaster France Info, Mr Doherty’s wife Anne said he often goes for two or three-hour walks but doesn’t know the Col d’Escots mountains very well and is “not someone with full equipment or necessary gear”.
What we know about the search
French authorities launched an urgent search involving helicopters and dogs the day after Mr Doherty went missing, but much of it was hampered by poor weather, with heavy fog in the area.
French authorities are searching for the retired doctor. Pic: PA
Mr Doherty’s car was found the day after he went missing, according to Ms Doherty, who travelled to France to join the search party.
The search continued until Sunday, when the prosecutor’s office in Foix told French news agency AFP it had been suspended.
“After five days, we haven’t managed to find him,” a representative of the prosecutor’s office said, adding an investigation into Mr Doherty’s disappearance would continue.
Family ‘panicked’ when they got texts
His wife, who visited his last known location alongside one of Mr Doherty’s children, said he was leaving his car for a few hours at a time before going back to it and returning to his campsite.
She said the family “panicked” when they got the messages from Mr Doherty on Tuesday.
“When I arrived in France, I hoped that they had found him and that we would be in the hospital,” she told Franceinfo on Thursday 8 August.
“But, in the afternoon with the fog, we lost confidence, especially for a 67-year-old man spending a second night alone in these conditions.
“We have a lot of worries, but we have not lost hope.
“That is why we are launching an appeal for witnesses: if anyone has seen him, if anyone knows where he pitched his tent, please alert the police.”
Mr Doherty’s family last heard from him on 6 August. Pic: PA
According to his family, the retired doctor was a respected consultant of tropical medicine who worked around the world and specialised in malaria.
Since retiring almost a decade ago, he has spent most of his time in France.
He has three daughters, a son and a grandchild.
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British man missing in France and are in touch with the local authorities.”
