Missing French couple found alive and well in Corsica
A couple from Normandy that had been reported missing during a holiday to Corsica have been found alive, with their daughter saying that “their love saved their lives”.
Patricia and Yves Rosay are from the small Normandy village of Cléville near Rouen, and are in their sixties. Both church ministers, they were on holiday to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary, before going missing during a countryside walk.
Relatives had reported them missing on Saturday October 27 after having had no communication with the couple since a final text message sent at 14h30 on Thursday October 24.
Both were found alive in the Ospedale Massif near Porto-Vecchio yesterday (Monday October 28).
Mrs Rosay had a slight injury to her ankle, and husband and wife were both airlifted to hospital in the capital city of Ajaccio for further medical checks.
Speaking immediately after the couple were found safe, their daughter Aurore said: “We knew that they were strong...but this really proves that their love and cooperation saved their lives...That is really what we were hoping for. I am relieved but I don’t know if I believe it [yet]...I need to see them.”
According to initial reports, the couple is said to have been hiking in the area, and had reached the Piscia di Gallu waterfall. They became lost on their way back, after wrongly following a path alongside the waterfall stream.
After their disappearance, a search operation had been launched, with divers combing the water near the waterfall and a canine search team brought in. Around 30 soldiers were also mobilised to check the footpaths, and the dense forested area was also searched by helicopter.
The Rosays’ family and friends had also joined the effort, helped by local farmers.
Relatives reported the couple missing after checking with the Tilbury hotel in Porto-Vecchio, where the couple had been staying. Managers said that they had not seen the couple, but that some belongings had been left in the room and had not been collected.
After confirming that the Rosays had also not checked in to the Bonifacio hotel, where they had planned to spend the second part of their holiday, the family raised the alarm with the Porto-Vecchio gendarmerie.
The couple’s hire car, a grey Citroën, was found on Sunday afternoon near the start of a trail path to the Piscia di Gallu waterfall. The manager of a restaurant near the start of the trail confirmed that they had served the Rosays at around 15h, just before the couple started their walk.
The gendarmerie said they believed that the Rosays had intended to take a short stroll, rather than a longer hike, as they had left water bottles and bank cards in their hire car.
Fears had been growing for the couple, as the Corse-du-Sud area was on yellow alert for rainstorms and flooding over the weekend.
