The wife of a British doctor who went missing in France has revealed the last chilling text message she received from him. Tom Doherty, from St. Albans in England, was on vacation in Col d’Escots when he disappeared after sending a WhatsApp message to his wife saying, “Help, I’ve fallen and cannot move.” Back in England, the doctor’s wife, Anne Lyons, said she panicked and immediately set out for France.
Lyons told reporters that when she arrived in the region, she expected authorities to tell her they had found him. However, search and rescue teams still had not located Dr. Doherty as weather conditions worsened a day later. “With the fog, we lost confidence, especially for a 67-year-old man spending a second night alone in these conditions,” Lyons said.
Six days after he went missing, French authorities called off the active search but said investigations would continue. Heavy fog influenced the decision, and images shared online showed poor visibility, with experts stating that it was limited to around 20 meters.
The grandfather and father of four is reportedly an experienced hiker who has traveled around the world. His medical specialty is tropical medicine and his expertise in malaria results from many expeditions to far-flung corners of the globe. He retired from medicine ten years ago.
A spokesperson for the UK’s Foreign Office said British authorities are in touch with their counterparts in France and are offering their full support to French investigators.
Dr. Doherty’s daughter, Rachel Doherty, described her last contact with her father. He sent her a photo via WhatsApp showing a cloud bank emerging and traveling toward the mountain he was on. He told his daughter the clouds were a “bugger,” and in response, she urged him to leave the mount until the weather cleared.
Speaking to French broadcasters, Anne Lyons said her husband usually goes on two or three-hour walks, but her concern was amplified by the fact that he does know the French Pyrenees and would struggle to find his out if he got lost. She added that he is “not someone with full equipment or necessary gear.”
