Francisco Navio had left his home on Sunday in his car as the flood waters were rising in Albufeira “just to buy a newspaper down the road from where he lived”, explained José.
“He was probably taken by surprise by the strong waters and never made it out”, his son told The Portugal News.
José confirmed that the driver’s side window of the car had its window broken, but was unsure if this had been an attempt for his father to escape, or the result of the force of the powerful flood waters.
“He was found the next morning, only a short distance from the ditch into which the car had fallen during the floods”, added José.
Francisco Navio, originally from Vila Nova da Familacão, spent many years in South Africa where he opened up several successful restaurants before returning to Portugal 20-years-ago.
“We had all the family together in the Algarve to celebrate his birthday on Wednesday”, said José, but instead the family gathered for a mass that day in Boliqueime before Sr. Francisco was laid to rest in the town of his birth.