VALAIS, Switzerland – The bodies of two Belgian climbers who went missing in the Swiss Alps in 1992 have been discovered after being exposed by melting glacier ice, authorities have confirmed.
A hiker found the human remains on July 26, 2026, on the Trift Glacier, located south of the central Swiss city of Lucerne. Forensic DNA analysis later identified them as two mountaineers aged 39 and 41 who disappeared 34 years ago near the Weissmies peak.
Okay News reports that police in the southwestern canton of Valais coordinated a recovery operation following the discovery, transferring the remains to a hospital in Sion for formal forensic identification.
Peaking at over 4,000 metres (approximately 13,120 feet), the Weissmies mountain is a well-known climbing destination in the Saas Valley region. Cantonal authorities maintain a missing-persons registry dating back to 1925, which primarily records individuals who vanished in mountain ranges or waterways.
Police noted that receding ice has repeatedly revealed human remains and long-lost equipment across the Alps. In 2023, remains uncovered near the Matterhorn were confirmed to be those of a German mountaineer missing since 1986.
Climate researchers have directly linked the exposure of high-altitude remains to rapid ice retreat. According to Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLAMOS), the country’s glaciers shrank by 25% in the decade leading to 2025, with an additional three percent loss recorded across 2025 following record melting in 2022 and 2023.
Data from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service shows that glacier volume loss has accelerated worldwide since 2000. In Switzerland, persistently elevated Alpine temperatures and declining snowfall continue to alter the mountain landscape, impacting tourism infrastructure and winter sports competitions.
