Michel Pons, an 83-year-old retiree, had disappeared since September 5, 2026 in Entraigues-sur-la-Sorgue. Significant search resources had been mobilized to find him, without success, until the gendarmes called on a Saint-Hubert dog to support them. Thanks to him and his senses, the man was discovered, stuck in the heart of the vegetation, not far from his home.
It is at Entraigues-sur-la-Sorguein the Vauclusethat Michael Pons had been missing since Saturday September 5, 2026. The 83-year-old retiree remained untraceable for 2 days, despite the resources deployed by the gendarmes.
A helicopter and a drone to fly over the area
This worrying disappearance had in fact required the police to mobilize several search operations. With the support of relatives, these took place around the town of residence of the octogenarian, and supported by the overflight on Sunday of a helicopter and a drone. But despite all the joint efforts, Michael was not found.
The man finally located thanks to the scent of a dog
However, the research did not stop there. As the media stated 20 minutesthe gendarmerie called on a Saint-Hubert dog. Belonging to Dog investigation group (GIC) of the gendarmerie, the dog used his extraordinary flair for the benefit of research to find Michael. For this type of “cold trail”, the gendarmerie regularly calls on these dog teams. Indeed, dogs are major assets capable of helping to delimit a search area through vegetation, which was the case in the disappearance of Michael. On September 7, around 10 a.m., the man was found alive. Stranded in the middle of the vegetation, he was only a few hundred meters from his home.
Taken care of by the firefighters, then by the Samu, the octogenarian was weakened after these 2 days of waiting and was hospitalized to recover and be treated.