Hotel manager watching search message on TV… the missing man drinking in his bar

Barber-café boss Luc De Smet from Melle was shocked today. From behind the counter of his case, he saw on TV a search message about a 73-year-old man from Ghent.

It turns out: the man in question was enjoying a glass in his shop at that time. “It was a bit like in a television series. I never thought I’d experience that.”

The man, a 73-year-old from Ghent, left the ‘Brugse Vaart’ residential care center in Mariakerke, a sub-municipality of Ghent, around 1.30 pm. Since then, no trace of him has been found. The federal police issued an investigation message, which was picked up by, among others, the regional television channel AVS.

A TV channel that Luc De Smet, manager of Den Barbier in Melle, already zaps to. He saw the investigation message pass, after which he had to look twice: the man who was being reported was actually enjoying a Duvel in his cafe at that moment. “He was in my bar for about an hour.”

The police confirm that the missing person was found safe and sound in Melle today. A happy ending, and for Luc a story to remember. “It was a bit like in a television series. I never thought I’d experience that.”