Search teams are scouring the French Pyrenees after a retired British doctor went missing while hiking.

Tom Doherty, 67, from St Albans, was hiking and camping near Col d’Escots on Tuesday when his family lost contact with him.

Here’s everything we know about what happened and the search so far:

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 Tuesday.

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.

“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 have launched an urgent search involving helicopters and dogs.

The search has been hampered by poor weather, with heavy fog in the area.

Mr Doherty’s car has been found, according to Ms Doherty, who has travelled to France to join the search party.

His wife, who has 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.

‘We have not lost hope’

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.

“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.”

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.”

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

Related posts:

Stalkers have become increasingly obsessive during lockdown – leaving victims feeling trapped NHS trust pleads guilty to two charges over death of seven-day-old baby William gets first vaccine dose and thanks health workers for ‘everything you’ve done’ Third COVID jab to be offered to people with severely weakened immune systems Queen in high spirits as she returns to work to meet Swiss president Queen’s coffin seen for the first time as it leaves Balmoral Sexual offences logged by police in England and Wales hit record high Crime gang convicted over plot to flood streets with cannabis and cocaine Cave rescue after boat gets stuck in underground lake CCTV released of missing mother’s last known movements – after coat found in river Snooker bosses investigate after Ronnie O’Sullivan’s foul-mouthed rant about opponent Nottingham Forest fail to get four-point deduction overturned