Two Belgian Climbers Missing Since 1992 Identified After Trift Glacier Reveals Remains

Overview

• A hiker reported two bodies on the Trift Glacier on July 26, 2026, after melting ice freed the remains and they were recovered later that month.
• The Police cantonale du Valais announced on Wednesday that a direct DNA comparison formally identified the remains as two Belgian alpinists who vanished in the Weissmies region in 1992.
• The men were Belgian nationals aged 39 and 41 when they disappeared and the recovered bodies were taken to the Institut de médecine légale in Sion for forensic processing.
• Cantonal records in Valais list missing people back to 1925, and authorities say similar finds have increased as glaciers recede, including a 1994 case near Obergabelhorn last year.
• The discovery will require family notification, case-file review and expanded forensic work, and it highlights how climate-driven glacier melt is making long-unsolved mountain disappearances more common.