These days, there’s very little that goes undocumented. So much of our lives are surveilled. And while it can often feel like an invasion of privacy, it can also be a great help. Technology is helps provide answers to mysteries that have gone unsolved for years.
This was the case for an elderly man whose wife disappeared mysteriously. He thought he would die never knowing what happened to her. But a suggestion from a neighbor helped uncover the truth.
More from LittleThings: Image From Google Street View May Have Helped Police Solve A Murder Case
Marcel Taret was the sole caretaker for his 83-year-old wife Paulette Landrieux, the Mirror reports. Paulette was living with Alzheimer’s disease in Andenne, Belgium.
In recounting this story, podcaster Mr. Ballen described the type of care Paulette needed. “Paulette needed help remembering to eat or to take her medications on time,” he said. “Sometimes she would just wander off without telling Marcel and he would have to go and corral her and bring her back home.”
More from LittleThings: Mom Dies, Then Daughter Discovers Google Street View Caught One Of The Last Images Of Her
On November 2, 2020, Marcel made lunch for Paulette and then sat her down in front of her favorite television show while he went outside to hang some laundry out to dry. That was the last day, he saw his wife alive.
When he returned from outside, Paulette was gone. He went from room to room looking for his wife, but couldn’t find her. Then he went outside. He still couldn’t find her.
Eventually, he called the police. Within the hour, they were there with a search helicopter. Despite the efforts, nighttime fell and there was still no sign of Paulette.
“Over the next few days and weeks Paulette didn’t turn up,” Mr Ballen explained. “Nobody had any idea where she was, and weeks turned into months and then months turned into two full years that nobody had seen Paulette.”
Two years later, Marcel’s neighbor suggested he check Google Maps for clues. Coincidentally, on the day she disappeared a street view camera was in the neighborhood. The image showed Marcel hanging clothes on the line while Paulette walked across the street.
Later, investigators followed Paulette’s route. “Across the street was a steep hill that led down to a thick bramble bush,” Ballen explained. They found Paulette’s body inside the bush.
“When that huge search for her was going on, very likely she was just trapped down there,” Mr. Ballen said. “She didn’t understand what was going on couldn’t necessarily yell up to communicate with anybody and so she stayed down there and died.”
Many wondered how the search and rescue team missed this spot, but at least Marcel and Paulette’s family now have answers.
