Found Deceased Madeira - Veronique & Laurent Blond, 56 & 58, French Nationals, never returned from a walk. Fajã da Areia, Madeira, March 16 2024.

StillDiggin

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The French couple were reported missing in Madeira on March 16, and the alert was given by their daughter who was also on vacation in the region and who, on that day, chose to rest.

The tourists were staying in a local accommodation in Fajã da Areia and went for a walk on Saturday afternoon, but never heard back. That day, the couple had last been seen at 3:45 pm, on Avenida Marcos Marques Rosa, in the Calhau site, in São Vicente, walking towards Porto Moniz.

Since then, searches began, both by land and sea, but without success, carried out by the PSP, Regional Civil Protection Service, drone team from the Madeira Operational Command, National Republican Guard (GNR), National Maritime Authority and SANAS-Madeira.

The Judiciary Police are also investigating the disappearance of the two tourists, and efforts are being made to understand the circumstances of their disappearance. All scenarios are being considered.
Now things don’t add up with this story, as the daughter Joanna Blond who supposedly went back to the Airbnb, has been saying that they not picking up calls on the cell phones, and that the GPS signals gave a large area, which I thought was also strange at the time. So could this be more criminal????

French police seized cell phones in searches of the missing couple, from the residence in São Vicente, reveals Le Parisien.
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I shouldn't even be giving comments on this case living 40 miles north of Los Angeles, but I had never heard of this island. Using google maps, looking at all posted photos and starting at Faja da Areia, this single main road Avenida Marcos Marques Rosa, there is NO WAY TO HIKE towards the middle of the island, IT IS STRAIGHT UP VERTICALLY. Using Porto Moniz for reference is misleading...it is 16 KM or 10 miles away, so it is a direction only. It is approx. 1 mile to just walk to Sao Vicente. The majority of the island touches the oceans edge, so there are many "tunnels" for the road to travel the perimeter of the island. They are on the opposite side of the island from the airport, so they would have had a rental car IMO. I wouldn't think cell phones would have any reception due to the shear vertical mountain. 95% of all dwellings are on the ocean side of this road and little access to the water. Could be some wet slippery boulders in just a few locations. I'm leaning towards the rental car being part of this case.
 
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This is a photo I found NOT related to this case. Only shows just how brutal the path is. Lapas Negras is a series of black caves, which can be seen from the highway running through Sao Vicente. They are big enough to walk through as you traverse around the cliff to reach the coastal viewpoint. The views of the northern coastline on Madeira are quite remarkable from halfway through the hike. The route finishes off by delving into the forest and looping back around to the parking lot. It’s very overgrown, steep, and quite exposed so this should be done with a local guide or someone who has been previously. Lapas Negras is one of the most epic and also probably up there as one of the steepest trails on Madeira. Located on the coast of Sao Vicente, Lapas Negras leads you directly up the side of a rocky cliff face. It’s a challenging, exposed, and difficult ascent that often seems close to vertical. With more than 300 meters of an incline in less than 800 meters of distance, there isn’t a much steeper trail on the island.
 
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