Five years after the disappearance of Julián Herrera and his nine-year-old daughter Clara, the mountains seemed to have claimed them forever.

Their case dominated headlines in 2020, after what should’ve been a short, harmless hike in the French Pyrenees ended in silence. As months passed with no leads, no sightings, and not a single trace, the official search was quietly shut down. The family held on to the fragile hope that maybe just maybe – Julián had selected to begin over somewhere far away. Others muttered the more likely theory: an unseen fall in some unreachable corner of the range.

For years, nothing stirred.

Until late August, when a Catalan couple exploring a rarely traveled path near Roland’s Breach noticed something that disrupted the monotony of the gray rock. The man crouched, aimed his phone flashlight into a narrow crack, and froze.

“…It’s a backpack,” he said, barely touching it.

His partner brushed dust from a faded label. The moment she read the name, both felt their stomachs drop.

– Julián Herrera.

Their discovery sparked an immediate response. Photos were sent to the gendarmerie, and within hours a helicopter dropped a specialized rescue team onto the site.

Captain Morel who had helped search for Julián and Clara five years earlier opened the backpack with gloved hands. Inside were a dented water bottle, scraps of food, a wrinkled map… and something that chilled him instantly:

Clara’s blue notebook.

Recognized by the entire country during the original investigation.

The media storm reignited. Journalists crowded the access roads. The family braced themselves for answers they weren’t sure they wanted.

But the mountain was not ready to cooperate.

The crevice was only fifty centimeters wide, plunging deep into the rock and stretching far above. Some believed Julián might’ve tried to descend somewhere nearby—searching for shelter or a shortcut—and accidentally trapped himself and Clara.