A British couple who were found dead in their home in rural south western France have been named locally as Andrew and Dawn Searle…. The bodies of Andrew and Dawn Searle were discovered at their villa in Aveyron on Thursday, as Cari Davies reports

The couple, understood to be in their sixties, are believed to have moved to France from Scotland ten years ago and got married in the summer of 2023.

The couple’s house in the hamlet of Les Pesquiés.
The couple’s house in the hamlet of Les Pesquiés.
Credit: EBU
The mayor of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, Jean-Sébastien Orcibal, who lives in Les Pesquiés, said the couple were well known in the hamlet, which has a population of around 100 people.

“They regularly invited the whole neighbourhood to come and have an aperitif at their place and share a festive moment. They knew a lot of people,” he said.

He told ITV News Mr Searle had been on the local events committee.

A neighbour reportedly raised the alarm at 12.23 pm after discovering the bodies. They had gone to check on the couple when they did not appear to walk for a planned dog walk.

Before retiring in 2015, Mr Searle worked as a financial crime investigator, according to his LinkedIn page.