Missing Cadiz pensioner, 92, found more than 1,000 kilometres away in Miranda de Ebro

Francisco had disappeared after going for his usual morning walk in Pueblo Nuevo de Guadiaro, San Roque, on Sunday. When he failed to return, his family grew concerned and searched the places he usually visited, as well as nearby villages.

With nobody having seen him, they went to the Guardia Civil to file a missing persons report. Two days later, they received a call telling them he had been found in Miranda de Ebro.

His son David believes his father may have followed a route he knew well from the nearly 50 years he spent travelling between France and Cadiz.

"Every summer we used to cross Spain from north to south to get back home," he said. "We don't know what he's been up to all this time."

Francisco emigrated to France during the Franco dictatorship in search of a better future for his family. He worked as a mechanic for Renault before retiring and eventually returned to his native Cadiz with his wife, María.

The family believes he drove the entire distance himself, although Francisco, who is showing early signs of dementia, cannot clearly explain what happened during the journey. Their only clue while he was missing came from his credit card, which had been used at a petrol station in Jaén.

"That's when we started to suspect he'd headed for France and we told the Guardia Civil, but it wasn't enough to locate him," David said.

The extraordinary story began to unravel on Monday 10 August when Francisco drove into the car park of a 'tanatorio' (a Spanish funeral facility that also hosts wakes) and asked people there for directions to the beach in Malaga.

They realised he was extremely disoriented and kept him there while they contacted the Local Police, the municipal police force. Officers checked his identification documents and discovered that his registered address was in a municipality in Cadiz before starting efforts to contact his family.

Francisco had previously shown no obvious signs of cognitive decline, according to his son, beyond what the family considered normal health problems associated with old age. "He and my mother go out for a stroll and chat with the friends they still have," David said.

The family had been left wondering where Francisco had spent the night and how he could have driven such a long distance without stopping somewhere where someone realised he was lost. "We don't know what he's been doing all this time, but I suppose he must have had a quick nap in the car," his son said.

The car arrived in Miranda de Ebro with damage to one side, apparently after a minor collision with a crash barrier. It cannot be driven again until it has been repaired.

Francisco's family has thanked the Local Police in Miranda de Ebro and Santiago Apóstol Hospital for their help. María, their children and grandchildren are now waiting to give him a hug after his unexplained journey ended safely.