Missing family had gone home

A COUPLE, whose abandoned canoe sparked a massive search and rescue operation, simply went home.

The empty canoe was found on Friday washed up on the shores of Lac Sainte-Croix, with no buoyancy aids or paddles on board, in an area out of bounds to the public.

The couple, aged in their forties, set out on Thursday morning with their children in a double canoe for what they said was a short trip.

However they never returned to their point of departure at Aiguines (Var) and the owner of a canoe hire business sounded the alarm when they failed to return that evening.

Rescuers were hampered by the fact that the couple had left no deposit or identity cards.

Forty people took part in the search and rescue mission that involved divers, helicopter surveillance flights, and tracking dogs.

Rescuers were eventually able to find contact details for the couple after a call from a friend of the family.

The couple told police that they had become lost and capsized after they were hit by a wave caused by the release of water from a hydroelectric dam.

After getting to the side of the lake they hitchhiked to their home in nearby Manosque.

Police said the couple had expressed their “regrets” and were visibly worried by the consequences of what had happened.

A government prosecutor said it was not possible to bring a case against them.

The deputy prefect for the area Emmanuel Dupuis said that businesses hiring out canoes should make sure they collect the identities of customers.

Photo: Alpes Haut de Provence