British man missing in French Pyrenees told family he ‘fell and couldn’t move’ in horror WhatsApp message

A retired British doctor who has been missing in the French Pyrenees for 48 hours sent a harrowing WhatsApp message to his family before they lost contact.

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

Family members received a WhatsApp message at 19.07pm from the pensioner asking for help after telling them he had fallen and could not move.

A search is now underway involving dogs and helicopters.

His daughter, Rachel Doherty said: “He was sending us a few pictures of the scenery and then on Tuesday afternoon sent us one of clouds coming over the top of a mountain.

“He said ‘bugger’.

“We told him to be careful and urged him to come down.

“The last time we heard from him was Tuesday. He told us he had fallen and couldn’t move.

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“That’s all we’ve had since. The search party have found his car.

“We’re obviously very worried and extremely concerned for his welfare.”

His family said the grandfather-of-one – who has three daughters and one son – is an avid and experienced walker.

Since his disappearance, his wife and one of his children have been at his last known location since Wednesday morning.

The retired doctor was a respected consultant of Tropical medicine who worked around the world and specialised in Malaria.

After retiring almost a decade ago, he has spent most of his time in France.

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.”