France Tom Doherty, 67, Retired british Doctor, texted family begging for help after fall, Pyrenees, 6 Aug 2024

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A retired British doctor missing in the French Pyreneestexted his family begging for “help” after he fell over and could not move on a hiking trip.

The family of Tom Doherty, 67, said they lost contact with him on Tuesday evening as they issued an urgent appeal.

Mr Doherty, from St Albans, in Herts, was hiking and camping near Col d’Escots when he texted: “I’ve fallen and cannot [m]ove”.

His daughter, Rachel Doherty, said a search party has recovered his tent and car. She said the family had last heard from Mr Doherty at just after 7pm on Aug 6 via WhatsApp.
www.telegraph.co.uk

British doctor missing in Pyrenees texted family begging for help after fall

Police search under way for retired Tom Doherty who was hiking alone in French mountain range
www.telegraph.co.uk www.telegraph.co.uk
1723137910779.jpeg
 
angelina1 said:
www.dailymail.co.uk

Wife of missing British hiker says he 'didn't have proper kit'

Tom Doherty, 67, from St Albans, was hiking and camping near Col d'Escots when his family lost contact with him on Tuesday after he sent a message reading: 'Help, I've fallen.'
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk
Click to expand...

That headline seems a bit misleading. BBM - basically he didn't have the equipment for the types of walk that he didn't do?

"Speaking to the FranceInfo outlet on Thursday, Ms Doherty said he regularly hiked alone, but only for 'two to three-hour walks', and 'he doesn't know the mountain well.'

She said: 'He toured the Pyrenees 15 years ago,' adding that he 'did not have the complete and necessary equipment' for long solo hikes.
 
I'm dismissing the stuff about equipment etc, but it's awful for the family, he sent a desperate message for help and it seems he was regularly touching base with pictures and messages but only vague location details. They've been having to resort to asking people to try to identify locations from his pictures. Oh for a gpx file :(
 
I don’t understand why he could message but not have the ability to send his location. I guess perhaps it’s very likely that he may have been in shock or had a head injury so wasn’t thinking clearly, but this is why having some way to share your location is so important. It could be something like what 3 words or find my phone on an iPhone. And just telling someone where you are going.

I do a lot of long walks and camping in very remote high moorland areas. I have what 3 words and google maps on my phone (there isn’t always signal in valleys but most places there is). And I always tell my husband where I’m going, where I’ve left the car and the route or general direction I’m heading (to a particular rock or river or peak), so it would be easy to retrace my steps if I got in trouble.
 
starlightstarbright said:
I don’t understand why he could message but not have the ability to send his location. I guess perhaps it’s very likely that he may have been in shock or had a head injury so wasn’t thinking clearly, but this is why having some way to share your location is so important. It could be something like what 3 words or find my phone on an iPhone. And just telling someone where you are going.

I do a lot of long walks and camping in very remote high moorland areas. I have what 3 words and google maps on my phone (there isn’t always signal in valleys but most places there is). And I always tell my husband where I’m going, where I’ve left the car and the route or general direction I’m heading (to a particular rock or river or peak), so it would be easy to retrace my steps if I got in trouble.
Click to expand...
BBM

BIG shout out to starlightstarbright for writing about the AP "What 3 words"! Many people may not know about this AP. I'm an EMT and had not heard about it until working in the EMS world. If you're not familiar with it (and maybe everyone already knows about it, and only I was late to the party!?)... the AP narrows down your location ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD to a few square feet and gives that location three random words. You see what your three words are for your location, and you can tell LE, EMS, family, etc. what your words are and they plug it in the AP and it maps exactly (within a few feet) where you are! And, it's FREE!!!

Thanks starlightstarbright!!! You may have saved lives with this post!!!
 
carterkatt said:
BBM

BIG shout out to starlightstarbright for writing about the AP "What 3 words"! Many people may not know about this AP. I'm an EMT and had not heard about it until working in the EMS world. If you're not familiar with it (and maybe everyone already knows about it, and only I was late to the party!?)... the AP narrows down your location ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD to a few square feet and gives that location three random words. You see what your three words are for your location, and you can tell LE, EMS, family, etc. what your words are and they plug it in the AP and it maps exactly (within a few feet) where you are! And, it's FREE!!!

Thanks starlightstarbright!!! You may have saved lives with this post!!!
Click to expand...
I was about to say there is an app for this.

A few months back one of my friends fell on a hike and used the app when calling 911. Rescuers were able to find her easily and carry her out. IIRC, each three word group represents a 10’ square.
 
Rikissa said:
Here's an article explaining moorland. It's similar to the landscape in parts of Scotland.
en.m.wikipedia.org

Moorland - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org
Click to expand...

There is a lot of moorland in the north of England as well, especially in Yorkshire (which the Brontë sisters took inspiration from).

But it's not really like the Pyrenees where Tom Doherty is missing. The nearest we have to that is probably Scotland, parts of which can also be very dangerous if you get lost or fall.
 
Grouse said:
There is a lot of moorland in the north of England as well, especially in Yorkshire (which the Brontë sisters took inspiration from).

But it's not really like the Pyrenees where Tom Doherty is missing. The nearest we have to that is probably Scotland, parts of which can also be very dangerous if you get lost or fall.
Click to expand...
Another doctor in their late 60s solo hiking in extreme weather and conditions reminded me of MMs case.
 
Whilst it is very wise to have what 3 words, or know how to share your location- as we have seen in cases where people have managed to do that, if people move it’s not always up to date. Sharing your login with a loved one is also important- this will continue to share your location, for as long as your phone is running even if you are incapacitated and apple phones will continue for 24 hours after a battery dies to your own account. So many times recently we have seen cases where the loved ones wish that they could access their loved ones accounts. It still won’t be an answer to every missing persons case, but taking both of those actions having a good location app and allowing a trusted person to know your password to login to your account is advisable.
 
carterkatt said:
BBM

BIG shout out to starlightstarbright for writing about the AP "What 3 words"! Many people may not know about this AP. I'm an EMT and had not heard about it until working in the EMS world. If you're not familiar with it (and maybe everyone already knows about it, and only I was late to the party!?)... the AP narrows down your location ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD to a few square feet and gives that location three random words. You see what your three words are for your location, and you can tell LE, EMS, family, etc. what your words are and they plug it in the AP and it maps exactly (within a few feet) where you are! And, it's FREE!!!

Thanks starlightstarbright!!! You may have saved lives with this post!!!
Click to expand...

remarkable information. Thank you both for discussing the APP
 
annpats said:
What is a "high moorland" area?
Could you give us an example? Is it something like in Scotland?
Click to expand...

I live in Dartmoor National Park (so in the South West of England), but I also walk in Yorkshire (so I guess that would be like the Yorkshire Dales) and in North Wales (though that is more mountains and less moor). It’s not like the Pyrenees topographically, but it can be very remote, not unusual to not see a soul for miles in any direction and very bleak. I love it though and feel very blessed to live here, but people do get themselves in trouble. We have a very active local SAR group on the moor.
 
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