Bodies of two hikers missing for decades found after Swiss glacier melts

The remains of two Belgian hikers who vanished in the Swiss Alps in 1992 have been uncovered after a glacier receded, authorities have announced. Police announced the discovery on July 26th near the Trift Glacier, south of Lucerne. DNA testing later confirmed the bodies to be those of two climbers who had gone missing near the Weissmies mountain 34 years prior.

Both men were aged 39 and 41 when they disappeared. Scientists widely attribute the rapid retreat of Switzerland's glaciers, which shrank by a quarter between 2014 and 2025 according to Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (Glamos), to climate change. The Weissmies mountain, where the men went missing, is a popular climbing site in the Saas Valley.

The region maintains a database of missing persons dating back to 1925, most of whom disappeared in mountainous areas or bodies of water. This is not the first time melting glaciers have revealed the remains of long-absent individuals; in 2023, human remains found on a glacier near the Matterhorn were identified as those of a German climber missing since 1986.

The rate of glacier shrinkage has been accelerating globally since the 1990s, with particularly rapid loss since 2000, especially in Switzerland. Data from Glamos reported an additional 3% reduction in glacier size in 2025, following record ice loss in 2022 and 2023. The ongoing trend of rising global average temperatures has brought unseasonably warm weather to Switzerland's higher elevations, threatening some ski resorts and competitions.