The body of a 64-year-old woman that went missing in the Flemish Brabant municipality of Kortenberg has been found in a pond adjacent to a footpath in the village of Meerbeek.
64-year-old Denise Cludts went missing during a walk on Thursday morning. She then failed to show up at an appointment early on Thursday afternoon. The police were notified at 1:22pm on Thursday. Police and the Missing Persons Unit carried out an extensive search of the area around Kortenberg on Thursday, deploying sniffer dogs and a helicopter. However, the search was to no avail.
Police searched again on Friday morning. They were assisted by dozens of volunteers. It was not clear where exactly the Denise Cludts had gone for her walk.
The search included the area near to the forest at the Old Abbey. However, the 64-year-old’s body was eventually at the De Rotte Gaten nature reserve in the village of Meerbeek. Ms Cludts’ body was reportedly spotted by a volunteer or a hiker that was passing by.
De Rotte Gaten is a nature reserve that is popular with hikers. It includes some elevated wooden footpaths above stretches of marshland. Denise Cludts’ body was found in a pond next to a footpath. The exact cause of her death is being investigated.