The family of Zoë Snoeks is mourning the loss of the dynamic 33-year-old woman after a tragic accident while she was capturing a selfie photo.
Zoë Snoeks from Limburg, Belgium, had started traveling in a van with husband Joeri Janssen and their dogs during the pandemic. Recently, the couple traveled to Nadrin in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium, to take pictures of cliffs that overlook the Ourthe River.
Joeri, Zoë's high school sweetheart whom she married in 2012, was with her when she instructed him to mind the dogs while she took a selfie. He turned around for a few seconds. When he turned back, Zoë had vanished. It took a moment for reality and heartbreak to sink in.
The incident took place in 2021, in the midst of the health crisis. "We only left on Sunday in our campervan," her husband said at the time. "Since the pandemic, it was our little thing to drive across Europe in our van and take beautiful photos," Joeri told the Daily Mail.
"We got up very early to take pictures of the Herou. There is almost always mist there. It's great for photos. We arrived before 9:00 am."
Joeri was looking after their two dogs, Joy and Ivy, when the accident occurred.
"She told me to look out for the dogs," he recalled.
"I turned to the dogs and told them to wait. When I turned back to Zoe, she was no longer there. She had just vanished. It must have happened in less than five seconds."
"I didn't see or hear anything. No rustling, no screams or shouts," he continued.
"I looked up and saw only dust. I called her, even though I knew it was hopeless. The chasm was several tens of metres deep.
"I immediately called the emergency services, but had almost no network. They didn't understand me, even though I speak a little French," he explained.
He had to go to the nearby Le Belvedere Hotel to ask for help.
"The rescue team could not find Zoe immediately, they said in French," he continued.
"Then they told me that unfortunately Zoe was dead, also in French, but I immediately understood what they meant."
"Taking photos was her passion. I immediately unlocked her phone and saw that she had taken a photo on the cliff edge. Her very last selfie," Joeri shared.
"Zoe is looking straight ahead. You can also see the mist and the river where they finally found her body."
