American mountaineer found in Peru 22 years after disappearance
On Monday (8 July), Peruvian police said they came across the mummified body of an American mountaineer, William Stampfl.
Source: @AFP on X
According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), he was reported missing 22 years ago in June 2002.
Aged 59 at the time, an avalanche had buried his climbing party while they were scaling the mountain Huascaran in the Yungay province of Peru.
Subsequent search and rescue efforts to locate Stampfl had failed to pan out.
Police shared that ice melting on the Cordillera Blanca range of the Andes, which climate change had induced, had finally exposed his mummified remains.
Police discover mummified body of American mountaineer in Peru
SCMP reports that images the police had distributed showed that the cold had preserved Stampfl’s body, in addition to his clothes, harness, and boots.
His passport was also amidst his possessions, which enabled the police to identify him as Stampfl.
According to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention site, the Cordillera Blanca is the world’s highest tropical mountain range. Situated within it, Mount Huascaran rises to a peak of 6,768m above sea level.
Source: UNESCO World Heritage Convention
Known as the highest mountain in Peru, Mount Huascaran is also a favourite of mountaineers.
Not the first time mountaineers have died in the Andes
Stampfl’s disappearance isn’t the first time incidents of such a nature have occurred in the area either.
In May, authorities discovered the body of an Israeli hiker, Oren Zamir, nearly a month after his disappearance.
According to the Times of Israel, his body was found near Lake Mitucocha. It was then suspected that he could have fallen from a height of about 100 meters while climbing through the area.
Last month, AFP News reported via Barron’s that an experienced Italian mountaineer, 35-year-old Tomas Franchini, also fell while trying to climb a separate Andean peak. Authorities eventually found him dead as well.
Also read: Missing Singaporean climber unable to be located on Mount Everest, wife pays tribute to him
Missing Singaporean Climber Unable To Be Located On Mount Everest, Wife Pays Tribute To Him
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Featured image adapted from @AFP on X.
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