High in the Alps… Discovery of Remains of a Man Who Died 22 Years Ago

A guide has found the remains of a man believed to have died in an accident on a glacier river 22 years ago, in the high peaks of the Austrian Alps.

The police said the discovery was made by a guide on the Schlatenkees glacier river in the Hohe Tauern National Park in the Tyrol province of eastern Austria, near the Italian border.

The police added that the remains were found at an altitude of around 2,900 meters, and it is evident that they had been there for years.

The guide informed the police in the Austrian town of Lienz before rescue personnel retrieved the remains with the help of a helicopter.

Just a few meters from the remains, rescue personnel also found a backpack containing money, a bank card, and a driver’s license.

The police stated that the remains appear to belong to an Austrian man who was 37 years old at the time of the accident, believed to have occurred in 2001.

The man also had skiing equipment.

DNA testing is currently underway to confirm the man’s identity. Previous Discoveries

The Schlatenkees glacier river has been the scene of previous discoveries. Bones found there in 2011 are believed to belong to a man who went missing in 1957. With the melting and receding of glacier rivers increasingly due to global warming, there has been an increase in discoveries of remains and belongings of hikers, skiers, and others who went missing decades ago. In July last year, the remains of a German man who disappeared while climbing near the famous Matterhorn mountain in Switzerland were recovered, 37 years after his disappearance. DNA tests confirmed that the remains belonged to a man who was 38 years old and went missing in September 1986.