Search efforts for Christine and Michael Chard, a British couple in their seventies and long-time residents of Bédar, intensified after the wildfire began in Los Gallardos, Almería, on 9 July 2026. Emergency teams were trying to find the pair, last seen in the Paraje del Curato area, a cluster of chalets on the northeastern slopes outside the basic village. The fire spread toward Bédar through dry vegetation amid high temperatures and wind, burning about 7,000 hectares. Early reports said 12 people had died and 23 remained unaccounted for.
Severe burns hampered efforts to identify the deceased. Investigators said the remains were so badly charred that even basic details such as age or gender could not be determined visually. Fingerprinting was impossible, leaving DNA analysis as a basic identification tool. Biological samples from recovered bodies were flown to Madrid for testing, while the large number of foreign nationals among the missing made it harder to obtain comparative samples from relatives abroad. The death toll rose as recovery and identification work continued, reaching 15 in later reporting.
The Chards were well-known in the local community for their sociable nature and regular visits to village restaurants and shops. They were among the first British expatriates to settle in Bédar, about fifteen years earlier. Neighbours recalled seeing them with a group entering a dirt track in Paraje del Curato as the fire approached. They were offered shelter and access to a pool for safety, but declined. The path had no exit, and the Guardia Civil found eight of the twelve bodies recovered at that stage along the route.
Authorities marked searched paths and burnt-out vehicles with yellow paint as they combed the affected area, including terrain below El Curato. Early coverage reported seven formal missing-person complaints; a later update referred to a tenth report as relatives contacted authorities and searches progressed. Guardia Civil teams also searched the ground for anyone still unaccounted for. The gap between the initial number of people reported missing and the number of formal complaints complicated efforts to contact families and obtain DNA samples. The challenge was heightened by the international backgrounds of many victims, as Luis Ortega, head of Zone IV of the Guardia Civil, highlighted.
The situation in Los Gallardos drew attention to the difficulties emergency services face in disasters involving international residents. A related incident, in which a group of foreign retirees died after taking a dead-end escape route during the evacuation, was previously reported in detail in coverage of the Almería wildfire tragedy. The investigation continued with two incomplete lists: people still missing and those whose remains had yet to be identified. At the time of the search, Christine and Michael Chard were among the names authorities were trying to resolve through DNA results.
Almería province, known for its impressive expatriate population, has seen a rise in foreign residents over the past two decades, particularly in rural municipalities such as Bédar. Evacuation measures affected more than 1,000 people. Road closures and searches, along with prolonged identification work, added to the fire’s impact. The tragedy was later described as the deadliest wildfire in Andalucía’s history by death toll. As the investigation continued, local authorities urged anyone with information about missing people to come forward and assist with identification efforts.
