Mountain Climber’s Mummified Body Found 22 Years After His Disappearance

The mummified corpse of an American mountain climber who went missing 22 years ago has been discovered at one of the highest peaks of the Andes, The Daily Mail reported.

Police officers in Peru’s Ancash region recovered the body of William Stampfl, who was 59 years old when he went missing in June 2002. An avalanche had buried Stampfl and his hiking party at Mount Huascaran’s peak, which rests 22,000 feet above ground. Search and rescue efforts at the time proved fruitless.

Authorities found Stampfl’s body on July 5 near the Cordillera Blanca range, about 17,060 feet above sea level. A climate-change-induced ice melt revealed his body to explorers. Stampfl’s passport was found amongst his belongings and used to identify him. Rescuers marveled at how well-preserved the cold had kept the mountaineer’s clothing, boots, and gear. His body was taken to a morgue in nearby Huaraz for further examination.

Stampfl was hiking alongside his friends Mathew Richardson and Steve Erskine when the avalanche overtook the three men. Erskine’s body was located shortly after the tragedy, but Richardson’s body has never been found.

Over the last 40 years, the Andes mountain range has lost between 30 and 50 percent of its ice cover due to climate-change-induced melting, which has erased some of the region’s “most valuable” glaciers. The thaws have also led to an increase in the discovery of bodies belonging to missing adventurers.

Last month, a 23-year-old Italian mountaineer fell 60 feet to his death while similarly trying to scale the Andes. In February 2023, the body of Marta Emilia Altamirano was found attached to a glacier 42 years after she went missing while exploring the Andes.