Husband's search for wife who vanished in broad daylight solved two years later thanks to Google Maps

The shocking case of an elderly woman who mysteriously vanished after her husband left her alone for a few moments was finally solved two years on, thanks to Google Maps.

Marcel Taret, 83, was the devoted carer for his wife Paulette Landrieux, who was battling Alzheimer's disease.

In a recent video, podcaster Mr Ballen detailed how caring for Paulette was a round-the-clock commitment for Marcel. "Paulette needed help remembering to eat or to take her medications on time," he shared.

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"Sometimes she would just wander off without telling Marcel and he would have to go and corral her and bring her back home."

On November 2, 2020, Marcel had briefly left Paulette alone to hang some laundry outside. He had settled her in front of the television with a nice lunch, expecting her to be still watching in her favourite programme upon his return.

Paulette, 83, suffered from Alzheimer's disease
(Image: Chilling Scares/YouTube)

However, when he stepped back inside, she was nowhere to be found, reports the Mirror.

Marcel's panic escalated as he searched every corner of their home in Andenne, Belgium, and even checked with the neighbours, but Paulette was nowhere to be seen. Recounting the harrowing experience, Mr Ballen said: "He searched the outside of the house but she wasn't there. He even knocked on some neighbours' doors but they hadn't seen her."

A desperate Marcel contacted the authorities and within the hour, a search and rescue helicopter was circling above his property. Despite the terrifying uncertainty, Marcel held onto hope that he would soon learn of his wife's fate.

But as darkness descended, Paulette was nowhere to be found. "Over the next few days and weeks Paulette didn't turn up," recounted Mr Ballen.

Marcel had no idea that Paulette would wander off
(Image: Google Maps)

"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."

Marcel had almost accepted the grim possibility of never discovering his wife's fate. However, a remarkable twist of fate cracked the case wide open.

The day Paulette disappeared happened to coincide with Google's Streetview camera car passing through Andenne. In 2022, a neighbour made the link and examined the street images.

In the pictures, Paulette could be seen crossing the road from her house, while Marcel was faintly visible in the background, hanging laundry. Following the path Paulette seemed to take, investigators uncovered her tragic end.

Marcel can just be seen on the right hand side of the photo, oblivious to his wife's dangerous wandering
(Image: Google Maps)

Mr Ballen detailed: "Across the street was a steep hill that led down to a thick bramble bush."

It was there they found Paulette's remains. "When that huge search for her was going on, very likely she was just trapped down there," he 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.”

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