Swiss glacier reveals missing mountaineers’ remains
The identification closes a decades-old missing-person case and adds to records of remains emerging as glaciers and reservoirs retreat.
Thursday, 20 August 2026 09:54
A hiker found the remains of two Belgian mountaineers on the Trift Glacier in the Swiss Alps on July 26, Swiss police said. The men had been missing since 1992.
USA TODAY reported Aug. 19 that authorities identified the remains as two male Belgian nationals who were 39 and 41 when they disappeared. Officials said DNA analysis identified them “beyond doubt.”
Swiss authorities said the discovery was the latest case linked to glacier retreat. “Due to the retreat of the glaciers, it happens again and again that the mortal remains of people who disappeared in the mountains several decades ago come to light,” they said.
Local police said they keep missing-person records dating to 1925. They described the list as “mainly people who have disappeared in the high mountains or in rivers and bodies of water.”
Melting glaciers have revealed remains elsewhere. In 2025, the body of Dennis “Tink” Bell, who died on an Antarctic glacier in 1959, was found by a Polish expedition, and the body of a 31-year-old Pakistani man missing for 28 years was found near the edge of a melting glacier in Pakistan.
Environmental change has also exposed remains at Lake Mead outside Las Vegas, where authorities are investigating human remains found Aug. 16. The National Park Service said there is no indication the latest case is suspicious, while the Clark County Coroner’s Office is working to identify the cause and manner of death.
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