DNA identifies missing Italian man after 35 years in Tyrol

ORF reports that a bone found in the Karwendel mountains has been identified as belonging to an Italian man who disappeared in 1991.

The 22-year-old was reported missing at the time and was believed to be somewhere in the Innsbruck Nordkette mountain range. A large search operation failed to find him.

In June, a 42-year-old Austrian hiker found 11 bones in a gravel chute on Vordere Brandjochspitze, a mountain peak. He alerted the Alpine police, who recovered the bones and sent them for examination.

The Institute of Forensic Medicine in Innsbruck found that one of the 11 bones was human. DNA testing then established that it belonged to the missing man.

The cause of death could no longer be determined. Investigators found no evidence that another person was responsible.