Without a serious lead to find the French retiree who disappeared in Utah, the search is stopped

Nearly two months after the disappearance of a 76-year-old French retiree, who took advantage of a family reunion in the United States to explore the parks of the American West, the authorities remain without concrete leads. The daughter of the missing man was alerted by rangers at Arches National Park in Utah when they found the abandoned car of her father, Francis Userovici. Since then, those close to the missing person have spared no effort to collect testimonies from anyone who may have crossed paths with the Frenchman in the park this summer.

Research stopped

Arches National Park rangers have deployed significant resources to try to locate the missing French retiree. Friends and family also tried to trace his movements, hoping that tourists or hikers might have seen him. However, no testimony has helped to advance the research. Due to a lack of new leads, the rangers informed the daughter of the missing man that the search was suspended. Despite this difficult situation, she nevertheless wishes to highlight the effort of the rangers: “They told me that they will always remain available if I have the slightest lead or information. »

She should now be able to recover her father’s personal belongings, until now kept by the park rangers. “The rangers told me that if I look at these cases, we might find out more and that could restart the search. » she confides.

Arches National Park is located in the Utah desert. It is more than 300km2 and temperatures are extreme in summer.
Arches National Park is located in the Utah desert. It is more than 300km2 and temperatures are extreme in summer.– H. Schoenbaum

A controversial approach: dowsing

In a desperate attempt, a family friend contacted a dowser. Dowsing is an extrasensory practice that relies on the use of a pendulum to locate people or objects. “By using his pendulum as well as the topographical map of the park, the dowser thinks he has identified the area where Francis’ body would be located,” explains the friend.

However, dowsing: we believe in it or we don’t believe in it. And the missing man’s daughter isn’t really a fan. “Even though I’m not convinced, I still passed on the GPS coordinates that the dowser provided to the rangers, but there was no concrete result. » For the family friend, “it would have been good to canvass the area in order to search it from top to bottom if more resources had been available”.

Francis Userovici was a 76-year-old French retiree. Without health problems, he was very active.
Francis Userovici was a 76-year-old French retiree. Without health problems, he was very active.– Personal archives

The administrative battle has only just begun

Francis Userovici’s daughter quickly received valuable support: that of the Antred association, whose president is Damien Véron. This association, created by the Véron family following the disappearance of their daughter Tiphaine in Japan in 2018, notably supported the retiree’s daughter by explaining to her that there is no legal equivalent in France for reporting a disappearance abroad. He therefore advised him to file a complaint for kidnapping and sequestration in his father’s town of residence, in Châtenay-Malabry: the best option according to him to open an investigation in France. This approach, although crucial, has not yet been successful. “Since then, nothing has happened. Despite my questions and contacts, I have no communication with the court,” says the daughter of the missing person in despair.

The family is, however, aware that administrative procedures can be long and complex. In France, it generally takes 10 years for a person missing abroad to be declared administratively dead. An official report from Arches National Park rangers is also expected this week. This report could contain essential elements to support legal proceedings in France.

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