David “Dave” Wood disappeared August 2, 2016, near Marie, Tinnee Valley region, Alpes-Maritimes, France.

Revised September 2024

In August 2016, David Wood, 61, a computer engineer with two grown-up children, disappeared without a trace whilst on holiday with his partner Valerie Armstrong in the Tinnee Valley region, Alpes-Maritimes in France. He has never been found.

Dave Wood’s walk

Since 2010, the couple has lived in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, for six weeks every summer, but they have also stayed around Marie in the Alpes-Maritimes area of France.

On the morning of August 2, 2016, Dave Wood set off to walk part of the mountain route between the village of Marie in Alpes-Maritimes and Clans, a small town about 6km to the south. The weather was fine that day.

It is said to be a non-demanding and straightforward valley hike near the river of 3.7 miles (6.7km), surrounded by forests, and one that David enjoyed most days, walking as far as he could manage, before turning back. The route does include some sheer drops, rocky patches, and a number of rivers if you venture away.

Wood was in good health, apart from mild hypertension and a brief episode of the inner ear infection, labyrinthitis, an affliction that can cause balance and hearing problems, as well as nausea and dizziness. Rather than take tablets, he decided to get fit and had been on walks every day in the lead up to his disappearance.

Dave was described as "eccentric and optimistic...a huge character, an unforgettable man and very funny. He is incredibly bright and amazing father. He was a larger than life person...really beautiful person."

Dave was described as having a full head of curly, white hair. At the time he disappeared, he was wearing a sturdy pair of walking boots, a bright orange cap, beige linen trousers, sunglasses, and a brown T-shirt. He was also using two walking poles to help him walk.

Valerie’s calls to Dave Wood

Dave had been gone for about an hour when Valerie first called his mobile to see where he was. Nothing seemed amiss, and he said he was on his way back, about half an hour away. Half an hour passed, and she rang again at around 2.15 pm. He told her he was tired and had taken a rest. Again, he said he was about half an hour away. Valerie said, “He was supposed to be back by 2.30 pm in the afternoon since he had a conference call with the U.S. booked. He had to be back. It is completely odd that he went so far.”

That was the last time the couple spoke. After that, Wood’s phone rang without an answer. He had been carrying two phones: an English iPhone and a French mobile. He used the latter for the call.

The search for Dave Wood

His wife reported David missing when he failed to reappear at his holiday home.

The Alpes-Maritimes police department conducted a 10-day search that included police, abseil teams, hundreds of local volunteers, sniffer dogs, and a helicopter.

Police attempted to use the iPhone signal to geolocate him, but because he hadn’t used it that day, an exact location hadn’t been logged. The best the police could do was narrow Dave’s location down to two remote areas around 0.6 miles (1km) in size.

Subsequent investigations established that a couple on a motorbike had seen Wood on the path to Clans when he stopped to ask them for directions to Marie on August 2, at around 1. 30-1.45 p.m. He had been heading the opposite way. The couple later said, "He seemed so confused. That was the last time anyone saw him."

His elder son Danny, 32, a product designer in Brighton, who immediately flew out with his brother to help with the search, said on Facebook,  “If he fell on the path or just off the path, he would have been found. The forest nearby is very dense and, although he is an inquisitive person, he would not put himself at any unnecessary risk, so walking deep into it seems highly unlikely, especially as he knew that he had to be back home soon, these areas have also been heavily searched.”

Despite intensive searches by mountain rescue teams, the gendarmerie, a helicopter, two sniffer dogs, abseilers, the people of two villages, and the Wood family, no sign of David Wood has ever been found.

What happened to Dave Wood?

After three weeks of intense searching, the family returned to the UK without any clues. Theories as to what happened to him abound.

• Did he fall and hurt himself?

• Did his labyrinthitis disorientate him and drive him deep into the mountains?

• Did he have heatstroke and get lost?

• Was there foul play involved?

Valerie said, “But none of those things makes sense. I heard all his conference calls. He was a very honest and honorable man. He wouldn’t get himself into something strange. He just wouldn’t. There was a time when we thought, was it foul play? Has someone hurt him by mistake?”

She is left clueless about what happened to her husband, saying, "It goes round my mind like a broken record. We believe something may have happened in his head, he got some kind of amnesia or that he had a stroke which made him confused and charge off into the mountains. But it's just unreal because there has been no sign of him. Nothing. Our concerns are that the sun might have affected him or that he fell over and then woke with a concussion.”

Lieutenant-colonel Blasius, in charge of the French search, said at the time, “However, we are not abandoning the search, and I remain firmly convinced that David Wood suffered a cerebral malaise, became disoriented, and is still somewhere between the village of Clans and that of Marie." He even employed a diviner and a spiritual medium to find Wood but with no luck. 

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Sources

https://www.facebook.com/TrouveDavidWood/

https://www.angloinfo.com/french-alps/discussions/general/missing-person

https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/family-of-missing-woodbridge-man-david-wood-facing-up-to-christmas-without-him-1-4814482