June 30, 2023 – In 1986, a German man went missing while climbing near the iconic Matterhorn mountain in Switzerland. Now after 37 years have passed, the remains of his dead body have been recovered. After a DNA test, it was confirmed that the recovered bodies belonged to the missing 38-year-old climber.
The Mountaineer was missing since 1986
The police of the Valais canton said that the body was discovered on 12 July. They said that the discovery was made by climbers trekking along the Theodul Glacier in Zermatt. According to the police, the missing climber was identified by DNA test.
In September 1986, the 38-year-old German climber was reported not to return from trekking. However, the identity of the trekker or the circumstances of his death were not disclosed by the police.
Pictures of the climber’s shoes with red laces stuck to the snow were shared by the police. The bodies of dead climbers are often visible because of the receding glacier.
Swiss climatologists and other experts have said the country’s glaciers have been melting faster in recent years. For this, they blame climate change to some extent.
This is not the first time
In 2015, the bodies of two young Japanese climbers were recovered. The bodies were of those missing climbers on the Matterhorn in a 1970 blizzard. The climber was identified through DNA testing.