Both bodies have now been recovered, and rescue services are beginning to de mobilise.
The two bodies found 100 meters from Vereda da Abelheira, in Fajã da Areia, in São Vicente, were 20 meters away from each other, as João Góis, commissioner of the Madeira PSP, revealed to JM FM radio.
João Gois explains that, at the end of the day yesterday, the PSP was alerted by a foreign citizen, who has lived in the Region for 8 years, who was carrying out some searches on his own initiative, having smelled a nauseating smell on the path.
“The PSP accessed the location, together with the citizen, and verified, in fact, that there was the body of a lady who, due to her clothing, indicated that she was the missing French woman. As the night progressed, and since the terrain was a little unstable, it was necessary to cancel the rescue of that body and start today with a rescue coordinated with the Madeiran volunteer firefighters, the Republican National Guard, PSP and the Regional Civil Protection Service.” , pointed.
After rescuing the first body, the authorities continued to search nearby and found the second male body approximately 20 meters away which, “based on his clothing, seems to be the Frenchman who was also missing”.
For now, the PSP suspects that the couple took the trail and ended up falling. “This trail has an area a little exposed at an elevation of 300/320 meters or so and which passes towards the area where they were found, but at a much higher elevation. Therefore, the main suspicion is that they fell from 300 meters to 170 meters”, he reveals.
Although everything indicates that the bodies found belong to the French tourist couple who had been missing since March 16, João Góis states that it is not yet possible to officially confirm this information.
“This identification will have to be carried out through forensic expertise or through the Institute of Legal Medicine”, he concluded.