A mountain guide discovered the body of a climber on a glacier in Austria in mid-August, which police on Tuesday identified as likely that of a 37-year-old Austrian who disappeared more than 20 years ago.
• Also read: A climber’s body was found 37 years after he disappeared
The record-breaking melt in the Alps observed by scientists under the influence of global warming is increasingly revealing the remains of people who disappeared several decades ago.
The body was found on August 18 on the Schlatenkees glacier in Tyrol at an altitude of around 2,900 meters, the local police said in a statement.
Among them was a backpack with a bank card and a driver’s license, which enabled investigators to trace the man who died in 2001.
DNA analyzes are performed to confirm these elements. Results can be expected “in a few weeks”.
In late June, more human remains and ski fragments were sighted on the same Schlatenkees glacier that recorded the sharpest decline (89.5 meters) in 2021/22, according to the annual report of the Austrian Alpine Association.
“It is rather rare to find both a whole body and the remains in such a short time,” said Christian Viehweider, spokesman for the police, in an interview with AFP.
Also in neighboring Switzerland, the remains of a 38-year-old German mountaineer who had been missing since 1986 were discovered in July on the Theodule Glacier (south).