THE final photo taken by missing Brit Tom Doherty just before he disappeared in the perilous Pyrenees mountains has been revealed.
Tom, a retired 67-year-old doctor, vanished on August 6, with his family desperately trying to access his Apple files in the hopes of finding a new clue to where he may be.
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A photo message sent two and-a-half hours before he stopped responding to any messages on his phone showed Tom’s view overlooking a mountain ridge.
He captioned it with the word “bugger” – raising concerns from his family that he had been caught up in bad weather hence the expression he used.
Tom’s wife Anne, who has flown out to help in the search, says the family would regularly be sent pictures of his camping expedition.
The family believe accessing Tom’s Apple account on his phone may provide a breakthrough clue to finding him.
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In a post on social media, a woman who said Tom was her uncle wrote: “We desperately need to access his Mac laptop which has been locked as we have tried his password too many times.
“We need to get into it so that we can look at the last location of his last photos on iCloud and try and get into his Find My.”
Examining his device may help officials pinpoint the exact spot the dad’s phone last pinged and lead them closer to finding out where he is.
Serious fears first started when the dad-of-four from St Albans, Hertfordshire, sent an alarming message to his family before he vanished on Tuesday evening.
The WhatsApp message read: “Help, I’ve fallen and cannot move.”
He hasn’t been heard from since.
A huge search involving dogs and helicopters on the French Pyrenees mountains was later launched after his wife reported him missing.
But the hunt has been hampered by poor visibility due to the poor weather conditions near the Ariège region near France‘s border with Spain and Andorra.
Anne and one of his daughters have been at his current last known location since Wednesday morning.
Cops found his car near Col D’Escots with the family saying he may be walking near Cirque De Gerac.
They are said to be “shocked” at the situation but are trying to remain positive.
Tom’s niece Kat Waterhouse told The Sun: “No one’s been able to reach him since.
“The helicopter’s been out in search and rescue, and been doing everything that they can, but there’s been absolutely nothing.
“It sounds very much like he’s injured himself.
“I mean, the helicopter hasn’t seen him so he could have dragged himself into shelter.
“He’s a doctor, so he’s quite resourceful. But we haven’t a clue. We’ve got to be hopeful, haven’t we?”
More of Tom’s family members flew out on Thursday to join in on the search.
Tom was a respected consultant of Tropical medicine who worked around the world and specialised in Malaria.
Anne says he likes to hike but typically only stays out for two to three hours at a time.
The couple own a home in south-west France have spent a large part of their retirement with their family in the region.
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