In his first call, a warning rang clear: “I’m lost, I don’t know how to get there.” The distress deepened after that moment. He described an iron bridge, cows, and a sense of isolation. No one could be asked for help, only a cyclist might pass. If a cyclist appeared, perhaps he could be guided toward safety. Yet no guide emerged, and he never returned. Pepe has not been seen since July 15.
José de Arcos, known as Pepe in his hometown of Sant Vicenç de Castellet near Barcelona, is a retired man approaching seventy-five, gentle and always smiling. He vanished in Lourdes, France, during a weekend trip with a group from Peña Blaugrana. His son Marc recalls: “My father was disoriented. He left the group, said he would go to the pharmacy for a moment, and disappeared.”
There is a sense that Pepe was seeking help. He contacted family and fellow travelers to ask how to return. The group turned to the police to start a search, but assistance did not arrive as quickly as hoped. He called relatives and friends who were with the group, but his phone ran dry and his location remained unknown. The calls stopped abruptly, and there was no further contact.
Type
On 14 July 2023, a group of just over forty people left Sant Vicenç de Castellet for a short weekend escape. The plan was to travel to Viella, Lleida, visit Lourdes the following day, tour the Sanctuary, eat, and return to Viella before heading home. Pepe joined without hesitation, enjoyed the trip, and shared in the good moments.
Friday proceeded normally. On Saturday they arrived in France, and Marc describes the moment when Pepe, with another companion, expressed a need to keep moving toward the Sanctuary instead of stopping to eat. He was healthy and engaged, taking photos with the group and recording the Sanctuary before he walked away.
“There are two exits”, Marc explains, having traced the route several times with the family. “One exit leads to shops and the ability to ask for directions; the other is a higher path that winds toward the forest.” Pepe was second to leave. It appeared he could have found a way to shops if he had turned left, but his path veered right toward the forest, where people pass but do not stop. He moved quickly, seemingly without orientation. From that moment, he seemed lost and unable to return.
“I see a bridge, no one”
At about 11:30 in the morning, Pepe left the Sanctuary alone, with no stores or pharmacies in sight and the forest ahead. By two in the afternoon, calls began to come in from relatives and the group. Around 2:45 PM more calls followed; several conversations occurred, but none yielded a way to locate him. Pepe described seeing an iron bridge and cows during the calls, yet there was no one nearby who could offer help. His orientation failed him, and the trail went cold.
The group members urged him to seek assistance from the authorities, but the suggestion that he might be in a forest near Sant Vicenç rather than Lourdes proved unhelpful in the moment. The reports of a person being found later in Lourdes were not accurate.
“The French police evaluated the situation of all those who went missing in Lourdes: ‘Then they show up…they find each other’.”
Marc, Pepe’s son, notes the frustration: the family felt there was little action from local authorities. The Spanish group was told that the case would be handled as a standard missing person situation, with the expectation that the person would eventually appear. It was conveyed that Pepe had left on his own accord.
Friends and relatives pressed for more help. They reported the calls from Pepe, explaining his confusion and the dwindling battery life of his phone. The response suggested that the situation could not be located because the device had limited power, and authorities indicated that they were unable to locate a phone in real time. The battery ultimately died and the phone never reignited.
a blue car
Disoriented, Pepe moved with a fragile pace. The family had noticed earlier signs of forgetfulness that prompted discussions about cognitive health, though no formal diagnosis had been made. The data from the family was shared with authorities and noted in the French alert. The first significant search did not occur for several days.
Marc, Irma, and other relatives arrived in Lourdes as soon as possible. A local officer told the family that a search would be conducted, but the dawn brought little progress. The family recalls repeated attempts to gain traction with authorities, who explained that initiating a comprehensive search required time and coordination with the Spanish police. The battery died on Pepe’s phone and it remained off.
Before Lourdes, Montse, Pepe’s daughter-in-law, urged action to the Mossos d’Esquadra, explaining that a coordinated search was essential. The family felt that delays were hindering their efforts.
Days passed with the family continuing their own searches. A blue car appeared briefly, and a man who seemed to be connected to the area vanished in minutes. The family hoped he might be a lead, but no definitive connection emerged.
Underwear
The family pressed forward, combing the forest. A fragment of underwear was found by the river near the location associated with the blue car. It was the sort Pepe used, and the discovery suggested a possible link to him. The discovery was not formally analyzed by authorities, but it aligned with the known clothing Pepe wore.
Subsequent searches intensified after the mayor of Sant Vicenç intervened. A single shoe and a sock were found a little over a hundred meters away from the underwear, later matching Pepe’s footwear in the last known photo. A tracking dog followed a scent to the underwear area, reinforcing the possibility that the items belonged to Pepe.
The forest was repeatedly searched and the river dredged. No further remains or clues were found. The family was told that the investigations had effectively reached the limit of what could be done, and further raids would not yield new information.
Glasses, wallet and documents
A volunteer team formed to scour the Lourdes area between the two discoveries. They mapped a radius of about 400 meters between the clothing fragments and scanned for any sign of Pepe. No glasses, wallet, or documents appeared. The search produced no more clues.
Nearly two months passed with no new leads. The calls stopped, leaving the family with a heavy, lingering silence. The sense of uncertainty grew, and the distance between hope and grief widened. They noted that investigations and disappearances in France followed different protocols than those at home. The pursuit of help paused as time moved on.
Pepe had a warm, social nature. He enjoyed pétanque and football, shared meals and conversations with friends, and remained devoted to his family and grandchildren. He was a man of quiet joy, who traveled with the Peña Blaugrana and remained a devoted Real Madrid supporter. After losing his spouse, he chose not to close himself off from life. The family continues to search for him, even as others seem to have moved on. They seek help and accountability, hoping for a resolution that would end the long, painful wait.