He has not been found since Friday.
Bernard Chaussoy, the former mayor of Rinxent, northeast of Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais), never returned from his mushroom picking in the forest of Desvres.
The octogenarian and his wife left for the forest on Friday morning and separated around 9 a.m.
They were to meet at 11:30 a.m. in the parking lot near their car.
But Bernard Chaussoy never arrived.
"Everything that can be imagined is imaginable"
According to La Voix du Nord, research was quickly launched: dozens of volunteers beat the forest, some on quads.
A helicopter equipped with a thermal camera traveled the area and 21 dogs, including a Saint-Hubert, specializing in the search for missing persons, were mobilized throughout the weekend.
In vain.
Sunday evening, the search device was lifted and the former elected official is still not found.
At this stage, "everything that can be imagined is imaginable", indicates the captain of the gendarmerie Laurent Martin de Morestel, quoted by La Voix du Nord.
Aged 81, the former mayor of Rinxent, from 1977 to 2014, measures 1.70 m and weighs 65 kilos, explain the gendarmes in an appeal for witnesses.
He has graying hair, wears a white goatee, and is dressed in blue jeans, an ocher jacket, and walking shoes.
He could also be provided with a white shopping bag, which he had taken with him to collect his mushrooms.
The gendarmes are investigating a disturbing disappearance.
