More info about the way searches are conducted and hikers / climbers missing in the Pyrenees of Aragón.
Joaquín López Valls, a rock climber from Madrid was lost in 1954 and his body was found 46 years later on the Tempestades del Aneto glacier. It is, so far, the longest disappearance known in the Aragonese Pyrenees. The mountains are yet to return the bodies of five climbers and one female hiker, missing for over 15 years. In spite of this, the Guardia Civil never stops searching. Added to the list in the last month is the mysterious disappearance in Benasque of the English hiker Esther Dingley, 37, and Andrés Funes Monge, 61, hiker and lawyer from Huesca who disappeared on December 19. The latter is being sought by the French Gendarmerie, the Benemérita [Guardia Civíl] has joined in the task.
The chief lieutenant of the mountain section of the Aragon and Navarre Area of the Guardia Civíl, Santiago Gómez Rivas, still remembers his first "great disappearance" was that of Jesús Ríos, a 71 year-old Mexican tourist whose body was found 12 days after he had gone missing. He had hardly started the job he holds today.
That operation involved a large number of troops, family and friends of the deceased who tried to search for him.
"Organisation and coordination is fundamental. It is complicated for many reasons, but you have to be clear that other lives cannot be put in danger when you are looking for someone," the lieutenant says.
When they receive a notification that they have to search for a person whose trail has been lost, the same protocol always applies: activate all available troops, both on foot and in vehicles, with dogs, divers and with the helicopter. The weather and the shape of the terrain determine how this is done.
The searches always begin at the point where it is most likely that the trail was lost and as they discard nearby paths, roads and ravines, the radius increases. "It is very important to know the area in which they were going to hike or climb and the first check we make is to see where that person's vehicle is parked, for example," says Gómez Rivas, who acknowledges that "it is an indication that allows them to confirm that they are in the right area.
In other cases, such as that of the recently disappeared Esther Dingley, the photos that are published on social networks or sent through Whatsapp also constitute clues that help them solve the case.
It is at this point that the greatest number of people are deployed, to whom are added the ranks of outsiders who are always led by an officer. "It's often a question of rotating people because when you go through a place where you haven't found anything before, it produces a kind of problem, since you only look at the same thing once over and that's what we are trying to avoid," he stresses. In the case of the Mexican tourist, 100 people participated. During this time, communication with family members is constant, although, as the lieutenant points out, "everything depends on them and their ways of being."
Although the rescue protocol does not set a deadline for the duration of the raids, they are usually intensive during the first week and then, as time goes by, they move on to very specific areas. They have to combine these enquiries with other rescues from people who have accidents while doing their mountain sports. "I try to give hope not only to the families, but also to the colleagues, to find out where these people are," said the man, who recognises that they have a handicap and are therefore using many technologies, such as drones and GPS, to sectorise areas and comb out as much of the area as possible.
There is never a better time to activate a protocol of these characteristics, but Gómez Rivas maintains that summer is "better than winter, mainly because of the temperatures".
"In addition, there are more hours of light, so our helicopter can be activated for longer and the personnel who carry out the scans can do so too", he explains.
The head of the mountain section of the Guardia Civil's Area of Aragon and Navarre is surprised that at this time when mountain activity has fallen considerably due to the mobility restrictions of the covid-19 "there are reports of disappearances".
"We have observed that there are people who become disoriented and that, being alone in the mountains because there are no others like them, which would usually be the case, the problem increases even more."
Except in cases of accidents or natural deaths, to avoid cases of this type it is always necessary to have good equipment and a system that enables geolocation.
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