Skeleton of mountaineer who disappeared in 1990 found in Swiss Alps

Published
08/29/2022 17:59

Updated
08/29/2022 17:59

The police of the Swiss canton of Valais, in the southwest of the country, confirmed on Monday that the skeleton and other remains discovered a few weeks ago in the Stockji glacier, in the popular tourist destination of Zermatt, they belong to a German mountaineer who disappeared 32 years ago.

The DNA analysis of the bones, found on July 26 by two French mountaineers, has confirmed that they are the remains of the aforementioned mountaineer, who he was 27 years old at the time of his disappearance and whose trail was lost in August 1990Police sources said in a statement.

The German mountaineer had set out from Chamonix, in the French Alps, with the intention to reach Domodossola, in Italycrossing alpine areas of the Swiss Valais, and after his disappearance a search was started that at that time was suspended without results.

melting of the glaciers

In the summer months, the melting of alpine glaciers, increasingly intense due to climate changesometimes allows the discovery of remains of climbers who disappeared at different times.

A second skeleton, still in the process of being identified, was discovered in early August on another Valais glacier, Chessjen, and also recently found the remains of a plane that crashed 54 years ago in Aletsch, the largest glacier in Western Europe.