On 2 January, at around 8.30 pm, the gendarmerie’s operations centre received a call from a woman whose 77-year-old husband had gone missing. She explained that they had got their car stuck on a track at a place called ‘Le Maugoro’ in Plouvara and had asked a local farmer for help, who managed to free the vehicle using his tractor. During the rescue operation, the owner of the vehicle left the scene on foot without explanation.
Four gendarmes from Lanvollon and Châtelaudren immediately set out to search for the man in his seventies. After a few minutes, the officers heard a cry coming from a waterlogged field a few dozen metres from the path. They found the man completely covered in mud, lying face down in the middle of the field and gasping for breath.
With the help of local residents who came to assist, the police managed to rescue the man, who was quickly taken into the care of the fire brigade and then taken to the hospital in SAINT-BRIEUC. The expression ‘to get one’s hands dirty’ certainly rang true during this last-minute rescue...