Ben Pawlowski
A SEARCH is underway in the northern Spanish province of Leon for a British man who has not been seen since a row with his wife on Thursday.
Mountain rescuers have expressed ‘maximum’ concern for the 48-year-old man’s welfare, and have mobilised a search party including drones, helicopters and sniffer dogs in hope of finding the individual.
Reports indicate that the man left his wife in a garage after an argument, dumping several personal belongings including climbing equipment and documentation before abandoning his car.
He was last seen on Thursday in Las Salas, a mountainous village in Cremenes, Leon, where he had been on a mountaineering holiday with his wife, a fellow avid climber.
The search, which is being conducted by a team similar to that who searched for Jay Slater for a fortnight after the young Brit disappeared in Tenerife, is focused on the banks of the Elsa River and nearby mountainous terrain.
The identity of the missing man has not been revealed, nor has the nationality of his wife, or whether the pair live in Spain or who had flown in for a holiday.
A spokesperson for a regional emergency coordination centre said: “The Civil Protection and Emergency Agencies of the Junta de Castilla y Leon is continuing with the search operation for the 48-year-old British man who has disappeared since Thursday in the area of Cremenes in Leon. The search today is focusing on the banks of the Esla River and the area around the village of Las Salas, where the missing man’s vehicle was found parked on Thursday”.
“In the village of Las Salas, the advanced command post of the Civil Protection and Emergencies Agency remains deployed, with technical staff from the emergency coordination centre, as well as the Fenix drone unit and the Logistical Support and Emergencies Unit. Environmental agents from the Castilla y Leon Regional Government have also joined the operation”.
