Five years after the disappearance of Julián Herrera and his nine-year-old daughter Clara, the mountains seemed to have claimed them for good. The case had dominated headlines for weeks in 2020 when they vanished during a short, seemingly safe hike in the French Pyrenees. As time passed, with no leads or signs, the official search was called off. The family, heartbroken and exhausted, clung to the idea that perhaps they had decided to start a new life far away. Others, more realistic, considered the possibility of a tragic fall in some inaccessible spot.
Nothing happened for years. Until, at the end of August, a Catalan couple decided to explore a little-traveled area near the Roland's Breach. Among the deep cracks in the rock, he thought he saw something that broke the grayish uniformity of the place. He crouched down, shone his mobile phone's flashlight, and saw a rectangular shape covered in dust and dampness.
"It's... a backpack," he murmured, not daring to touch it.
The woman approached. As she wiped what appeared to be a label with her fingers, they both looked at each other in surprise.
—Julian Herrera.
Father and daughter missing in the Pyrenees: five years later, hikers discover what was hidden in a crevice
Their hearts raced. This couldn't be a coincidence. The backpack was wedged between two rocks, as if it had fallen from a crevice above. The couple took photos and sent them to the gendarmerie, who reacted immediately. Within hours, a specialized rescue team arrived by helicopter and cordoned off the area.
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