Oh Boy can I relate to this. Hubby and I hiked a bit in the Alps (Austrian and mainly Chamonix, France) and just the wide open, fairly flat trails were altitudinally (made-up word) challenging. Vertigo is a huge problem in these heights as well, if you haven't given yourself time to acclimatize.
Presumed Located GERMANY - Jeff Freiheit, 32, Canadian hiker missing in Alps, Bad Tölz, 2 Aug 2018
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I have to say, flying over the alps is more than enough for me.
I guess having a european size beer wouldnt help either.
Alpine Life has published a new video about the searches of yesterday and today.
Yesterday the weather was bad and no searches were done, but the team used the time to analyze the maps and all the info available.
Today the weather is better, and searches will be done in selected areas, especially steep cliffs where JF might have fallen. Searches will first be done by air and then by foot. There are certain no-go areas, but today they will carefully move into one of those. Just in case.
Meanwhile Jeff's wife Selena has returned to Canada. His mother and his best friend Adam are still in Germany.
Thank you for the update, Mr Alpine Life!
Good luck to everyone out there, and stay safe!
Yesterday the weather was bad and no searches were done, but the team used the time to analyze the maps and all the info available.
Today the weather is better, and searches will be done in selected areas, especially steep cliffs where JF might have fallen. Searches will first be done by air and then by foot. There are certain no-go areas, but today they will carefully move into one of those. Just in case.
Meanwhile Jeff's wife Selena has returned to Canada. His mother and his best friend Adam are still in Germany.
Thank you for the update, Mr Alpine Life!
Good luck to everyone out there, and stay safe!
Bad Tölz/Lenggries: Kanadier Jeff David Freiheit am Samstag tot gefunden - die Suche im News-Blog | Lenggries
--- BREAKING ---
Message from Kathy, Jeff's mother:
„It is with a broken heart that I need to tell you we found Jeff, we meaning myself, Adam, Susanne, Ali, Peter, and a few others, at the trail bottom, Suzanne to give a few more details. Jeff, our son, husband, brother, family member, and friend is coming home/ is home. I have overwhelming gratitude to everyone who has been part of this sad journey, both at home and here in Germany.“
RIP Jeff David Freiheit
--- BREAKING ---
Message from Kathy, Jeff's mother:
„It is with a broken heart that I need to tell you we found Jeff, we meaning myself, Adam, Susanne, Ali, Peter, and a few others, at the trail bottom, Suzanne to give a few more details. Jeff, our son, husband, brother, family member, and friend is coming home/ is home. I have overwhelming gratitude to everyone who has been part of this sad journey, both at home and here in Germany.“
RIP Jeff David Freiheit
Last edited:
Bad Tölz/Lenggries: Kanadier Jeff David Freiheit am Samstag tot gefunden - die Suche im News-Blog | Lenggries
Jeff Freiheit found dead - Update Sunday, August 26, 8:45 a.m.
Canadian Jeff David Freiheit, who went missing in the Alps three weeks ago, was found dead. His mother Kathy reported this in several groups on the Internet that are involved in the search. According to the report, the 32-year-old was discovered by volunteers at the foot of a hiking trail. Among the volunteers who found him was she herself, writes the mother. "Jeff, our son, husband, family member and friend, is coming home now," writes Jeff Freedom's mother in her message. She was infinitely grateful to everyone who was part of this "sad journey".
On Sunday morning, police confirmed that the hiker had been found dead. The 32-year-old's partly decayed corpse was hidden in a mountain pine area below the approximately 1700-metre-high Achselköpfe.
BBM
Jeff Freiheit found dead - Update Sunday, August 26, 8:45 a.m.
Canadian Jeff David Freiheit, who went missing in the Alps three weeks ago, was found dead. His mother Kathy reported this in several groups on the Internet that are involved in the search. According to the report, the 32-year-old was discovered by volunteers at the foot of a hiking trail. Among the volunteers who found him was she herself, writes the mother. "Jeff, our son, husband, family member and friend, is coming home now," writes Jeff Freedom's mother in her message. She was infinitely grateful to everyone who was part of this "sad journey".
On Sunday morning, police confirmed that the hiker had been found dead. The 32-year-old's partly decayed corpse was hidden in a mountain pine area below the approximately 1700-metre-high Achselköpfe.
BBM
Jeff Freiheit (✝ 32) stürzte beim Wandern in Bayern ab - Vermisster Kanadier tot aufgefunden
Missing Canadian found dead
His family had hoped and prayed until the end - but unfortunately there is no hope for Jeff Freiheit (32). The Canadian went missing in the Bavarian Alps on August 2. Now an acquaintance of the family, a Canadian police mountain guide, found a skeletonized corpse below a hiking trail on the south side of the Achselköpfe. In the backpack: Jeff Freiheit's passport.
"With a broken heart I have to tell you that we found Jeff," wrote his mother Kathy in a helper group on Facebook. "Jeff, our son, husband, brother, relative and friend is coming home."
The Canadian wanted to hike along the " Traumpfad " from Munich to Venice (Italy) - a trip of up to 31 days. On August 2, he wanted to stop at the Tutzinger Hütte from Brauneck - but he never arrived there. There hasn't been a trace of him since. Even the Lenggries mountain rescue service could not find him. Jeff's last sign of life was 18 seconds long - a video message from Panorama Restaurant Brauneck.
According to the current state of investigation, Freiheit may have strayed from the planned route and crashed about 60 to 100 metres. His body lay hidden in a rugged terrain below the approximately 1700-metre high Achselköpfe. Due to the state of decomposition, the body is no longer fully identifiable. Investigations in forensic medicine are still required to finally clarify the identity.
Selena Freiheit (28) and mother Kathy (64) had travelled from Canada to Bad Tölz to look for Jeff together with friends and volunteers. She thanked everyone who was part of this "sad journey", the mother wrote in her moving Facebook contribution as a farewell.
BBM
Missing Canadian found dead
His family had hoped and prayed until the end - but unfortunately there is no hope for Jeff Freiheit (32). The Canadian went missing in the Bavarian Alps on August 2. Now an acquaintance of the family, a Canadian police mountain guide, found a skeletonized corpse below a hiking trail on the south side of the Achselköpfe. In the backpack: Jeff Freiheit's passport.
"With a broken heart I have to tell you that we found Jeff," wrote his mother Kathy in a helper group on Facebook. "Jeff, our son, husband, brother, relative and friend is coming home."
The Canadian wanted to hike along the " Traumpfad " from Munich to Venice (Italy) - a trip of up to 31 days. On August 2, he wanted to stop at the Tutzinger Hütte from Brauneck - but he never arrived there. There hasn't been a trace of him since. Even the Lenggries mountain rescue service could not find him. Jeff's last sign of life was 18 seconds long - a video message from Panorama Restaurant Brauneck.
According to the current state of investigation, Freiheit may have strayed from the planned route and crashed about 60 to 100 metres. His body lay hidden in a rugged terrain below the approximately 1700-metre high Achselköpfe. Due to the state of decomposition, the body is no longer fully identifiable. Investigations in forensic medicine are still required to finally clarify the identity.
Selena Freiheit (28) and mother Kathy (64) had travelled from Canada to Bad Tölz to look for Jeff together with friends and volunteers. She thanked everyone who was part of this "sad journey", the mother wrote in her moving Facebook contribution as a farewell.
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Vermisster Kanadier tot am Brauneck aufgefunden
Missing Canadian found dead at Brauneck
Fears and hopes turn into certainty for relatives and helpers on Saturday: Jeff Freiheit is dead. The 32-year-old Canadian had been missing at Brauneck for more than three weeks. On Saturday afternoon, a group of volunteers discovered the young man's body at the southern foot of Latschenkopf and the first Achselkopf in the undergrowth. The Canadian must have crashed off the path down a high cliff.
Freiheit had flown from overseas to Munich in order to hike on the so-called Traumpfad to Venice. On August 2, the young man had posted a selfie in front of the panorama restaurant near the Brauneck mountain railway station on the Instagram network. Afterwards, his trail got lost. Police and mountain rescue services interrupted the official search for missing persons less than a week ago. But private individuals had set up the Facebook group "Volunteers searching for Jeff Freiheit". They continued to comb the area to find Freiheit.
Bad weather is forecast for Saturday. The sky is overcast. But the high clouds leave the view in the area of Brauneck and Benediktenwand free. It doesn't start raining until about 4 pm. A group of twelve volunteers - including the mother of the lost Canadian - want to take advantage of this dry weather spell. They leave the valley early in the morning.
Around 9.30 am they reach the Vordere Scharnitz-Alm at about 1400 m above sea level south of the Benediktenwand. In the cauldron of Latschen- und Achselkopf a little higher up, they discuss with each other one and a half hours later. Around 11.36 a.m. they stumble upon shoes and rucksacks and finally upon the corpse of Freiheit hidden in the undergrowth. As wilderness leader Susanne Williams describes, the group immediately contacted the rescue workers. The British woman had helped coordinate the private search for the missing Canadian.
Williams (pictured) has lived in Jachenau for eight years. She has learned to hike and climb in Great Britain and elsewhere. This also explains her motivation to join in the search for the crashed Canadian. "There I learned that every mountaineer is also a helper," she says. She also knows the area of Benediktenwand and Brauneck. However, the search for missing persons was only possible thanks to the many supporters - by Saturday 505 people had registered in the "Volunteers searching for Jeff Freiheit" group.
Volunteers such as the Sauerlach electrical engineer Peter Huck, who also helped on Saturday, had combed the area between the Brauneck and the Austrian Vorderriß in the Karwendel for days in their free time. They distributed flyers with the missing persons report and talked to alpine dairy farmers and alpine dairymen. On behalf of the relatives, the Wolfratshausen company Air Bavarian had organized helicopters and drone flights.
Freiheit had managed to reach the Brauneck on August 2. With a mountain guide he had already climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and Everest Base Camp in the Himalayas. The "Dream Trail" was to become his first mountain adventure on his own. Freiheit wanted to stay overnight in the Tutzinger Hütte on the north side of the Benediktenwand. In Vorderriß the young long-distance hiker had booked a hotel room in advance. He hadn't arrived at either of the two places. Because contact with his family was also broken off, the relatives had reported him missing. But they assumed the young man was in Austria.
The emergency forces in the southern district of Tölz were not called in until about ten days later. More than 100 members of the mountain rescue service and police searched unsuccessfully for the Canadian for a long time. They had flown over the area between Brauneck and Vorderriß with helicopters and drones. They were out with search dogs, even in the area where now the dead Jeff Freiheit was found.
Christoph Brenninger, stand-by manager of the Lenggrieser mountain rescue service, explains that this is possible because of the extensive area traversed by mountain pines and gorges. If a person falls under scrub, he can hardly be spotted without clear indications or traces. In the specific case, it was problematic that the local forces were not called in until about ten days after the Canadian disappeared. The more days passed, the harder it was for dogs to find a missing person, especially in the hot weather of the past weeks. If the wind is unfavourable, the dogs are sometimes unable to detect a missing person even from relatively close range, according to Brenninger.
According to him, the members of the Lenggries mountain rescue service were alerted around 11.40 a.m. on Saturday. Six emergency forces were on the mountain, including two from the Bavarian mountain rescue service's crisis intervention service. In the afternoon, a police helicopter landed to evacuate the dead Canadian.
A few days ago Jeff Freiheit's wife and mother had travelled from the Canadian province of Manitoba to the region. From the very beginning, members of the Crisis Intervention Service had looked after both women. On Saturday, however, the wife was already on a plane back to Canada. The mother and a friend of Jeff Freiheit, who had also arrived, participated in the search for volunteers on this day. Wilderness guide Susanne Williams reports that her mother took in her son's discovery with great composure. "She was relieved it was over." The fact that she had been at the rescue may even make it easier to find her own peace of mind."
BBM
Missing Canadian found dead at Brauneck
Fears and hopes turn into certainty for relatives and helpers on Saturday: Jeff Freiheit is dead. The 32-year-old Canadian had been missing at Brauneck for more than three weeks. On Saturday afternoon, a group of volunteers discovered the young man's body at the southern foot of Latschenkopf and the first Achselkopf in the undergrowth. The Canadian must have crashed off the path down a high cliff.
Freiheit had flown from overseas to Munich in order to hike on the so-called Traumpfad to Venice. On August 2, the young man had posted a selfie in front of the panorama restaurant near the Brauneck mountain railway station on the Instagram network. Afterwards, his trail got lost. Police and mountain rescue services interrupted the official search for missing persons less than a week ago. But private individuals had set up the Facebook group "Volunteers searching for Jeff Freiheit". They continued to comb the area to find Freiheit.
Bad weather is forecast for Saturday. The sky is overcast. But the high clouds leave the view in the area of Brauneck and Benediktenwand free. It doesn't start raining until about 4 pm. A group of twelve volunteers - including the mother of the lost Canadian - want to take advantage of this dry weather spell. They leave the valley early in the morning.
Around 9.30 am they reach the Vordere Scharnitz-Alm at about 1400 m above sea level south of the Benediktenwand. In the cauldron of Latschen- und Achselkopf a little higher up, they discuss with each other one and a half hours later. Around 11.36 a.m. they stumble upon shoes and rucksacks and finally upon the corpse of Freiheit hidden in the undergrowth. As wilderness leader Susanne Williams describes, the group immediately contacted the rescue workers. The British woman had helped coordinate the private search for the missing Canadian.
Williams (pictured) has lived in Jachenau for eight years. She has learned to hike and climb in Great Britain and elsewhere. This also explains her motivation to join in the search for the crashed Canadian. "There I learned that every mountaineer is also a helper," she says. She also knows the area of Benediktenwand and Brauneck. However, the search for missing persons was only possible thanks to the many supporters - by Saturday 505 people had registered in the "Volunteers searching for Jeff Freiheit" group.
Volunteers such as the Sauerlach electrical engineer Peter Huck, who also helped on Saturday, had combed the area between the Brauneck and the Austrian Vorderriß in the Karwendel for days in their free time. They distributed flyers with the missing persons report and talked to alpine dairy farmers and alpine dairymen. On behalf of the relatives, the Wolfratshausen company Air Bavarian had organized helicopters and drone flights.
Freiheit had managed to reach the Brauneck on August 2. With a mountain guide he had already climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and Everest Base Camp in the Himalayas. The "Dream Trail" was to become his first mountain adventure on his own. Freiheit wanted to stay overnight in the Tutzinger Hütte on the north side of the Benediktenwand. In Vorderriß the young long-distance hiker had booked a hotel room in advance. He hadn't arrived at either of the two places. Because contact with his family was also broken off, the relatives had reported him missing. But they assumed the young man was in Austria.
The emergency forces in the southern district of Tölz were not called in until about ten days later. More than 100 members of the mountain rescue service and police searched unsuccessfully for the Canadian for a long time. They had flown over the area between Brauneck and Vorderriß with helicopters and drones. They were out with search dogs, even in the area where now the dead Jeff Freiheit was found.
Christoph Brenninger, stand-by manager of the Lenggrieser mountain rescue service, explains that this is possible because of the extensive area traversed by mountain pines and gorges. If a person falls under scrub, he can hardly be spotted without clear indications or traces. In the specific case, it was problematic that the local forces were not called in until about ten days after the Canadian disappeared. The more days passed, the harder it was for dogs to find a missing person, especially in the hot weather of the past weeks. If the wind is unfavourable, the dogs are sometimes unable to detect a missing person even from relatively close range, according to Brenninger.
According to him, the members of the Lenggries mountain rescue service were alerted around 11.40 a.m. on Saturday. Six emergency forces were on the mountain, including two from the Bavarian mountain rescue service's crisis intervention service. In the afternoon, a police helicopter landed to evacuate the dead Canadian.
A few days ago Jeff Freiheit's wife and mother had travelled from the Canadian province of Manitoba to the region. From the very beginning, members of the Crisis Intervention Service had looked after both women. On Saturday, however, the wife was already on a plane back to Canada. The mother and a friend of Jeff Freiheit, who had also arrived, participated in the search for volunteers on this day. Wilderness guide Susanne Williams reports that her mother took in her son's discovery with great composure. "She was relieved it was over." The fact that she had been at the rescue may even make it easier to find her own peace of mind."
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Sad news indeed, my condolences to Jeff´s family and friends
A final update from Alpine Life:
On Saturday a team headed to an area marked in red on the South of the Achselköpfe.
At 11.36 hrs on Saturday the 25th of August, Kathy Freiheit, the mother of Jeff Freiheit found her son's body at the foot of the Achselköpfe.
From what we can tell at this stage Jeff must have fallen between 50 and 60 meters and died instantly. We strongly believe that Jeff would have suffered no pain and that his death would have been quick.
The family thanks all those who helped with the search, all who gave input and all who raised money on the gofundme website.
Love and prayers to Jeff and his family from Alpine Man and everyone on the teams.
Jeff Freiheit, forever in the mountains
On Saturday a team headed to an area marked in red on the South of the Achselköpfe.
At 11.36 hrs on Saturday the 25th of August, Kathy Freiheit, the mother of Jeff Freiheit found her son's body at the foot of the Achselköpfe.
From what we can tell at this stage Jeff must have fallen between 50 and 60 meters and died instantly. We strongly believe that Jeff would have suffered no pain and that his death would have been quick.
The family thanks all those who helped with the search, all who gave input and all who raised money on the gofundme website.
Love and prayers to Jeff and his family from Alpine Man and everyone on the teams.
Jeff Freiheit, forever in the mountains
RIP Jeff. I’m overwhelmingly misty-eyed that his mother and his friends found him. So touching and appreciated to see all the assistance that was offered and the hours that were put into this mission. People can come together for another’s (even a stranger) benefit. Sad ending for sure.
Lenggries: Nach 60-Meter-Sturz wird der vermisste Wanderer Jeff Freiheit tot an den Achselköpfen gefunden | Bayern
Since Saturday morning it is a sad fact: The missing Canadian hiker Jeff Freiheit is dead. A team of volunteers and his family found the 32-year-old at the foot of the Achselköpfe.
Lenggries - A short video, taken in front of the Brauneck Panorama Restaurant on the morning of August 2, was Jeff Freiheit's last sign of life. Afterwards, the trail of the 32-year-old, who was on the "Traumpfad" long-distance hiking trail from Munich to Venice, disappeared somewhere between Tölzer and Tutzinger Hütte. Mountain rescue service and police searched for days for the 32-year-old from Brandon/Manitoba. Later, volunteers took over. They were the ones who found the body on Saturday.
The volunteer search was structured by Susanne Williams. The 48-year-old wilderness guide has lived in Jachenau for seven years. After a business trip to the USA, she heard about the missing persons search from a friend and decided to help the family - on a voluntary basis, like so many others from the region. For her, it was "a matter of the heart," she emphasizes. On Saturday, nine volunteers - including Kathy, the mother of the missing man, and his best friend, a Canadian police officer, met near the Vorderen Scharnitzalm. After a short briefing around 11.20 o'clock the circle search began in the dense mountain pine growth on the south side of the Achselköpfe. "Kathy saw his shoe a short time later and then his backpack," Susanne Williams tells. At 11:40 a.m., the group dialed 911.
According to the police, the 32-year-old's body was hidden inside a dense mountain pine field. The rescue took place with the help of a police helicopter, two mountain guides of the Alpine task force of the police headquarters Upper Bavaria South and members of the Lenggrieser mountain rescue service.
On the basis of current investigations, the police assume that on his way to the Tutzinger Hütte, Freiheit "may have strayed from the planned route and subsequently crashed 60 to 100 metres to his death," according to Jürgen Thalmeier, press officer of the Upper Bavaria South Police Headquarters. There are currently no indications of any third-party involvement.
Due to the condition of the body an examination at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Munich is necessary for the unambiguous identification of the deceased, Thalmeier said. In the backpack found there was also Jeff Freiheit's Canadian passport.
On Sunday, it was a matter of great concern to his mother Kathy to thank all the helpers who supported the family in their search. She is filled with "overwhelming gratitude for all who were part of this sad journey," she writes in the specially founded Facebook group "Volunteers searching for Jeff Freiheit," that has more than 500 members. Susanne Williams also emphasizes how overwhelming the great commitment of the many volunteers was. "It's been an absolute honor working with them." She would also like to thank the alpine farmers of the Vorderen Scharnitzalm and the Bichleralm. "They supported us so much."
It is also important for Susanne Williams not to criticise the work of the mountain rescue service. "Those who criticize in this matter do not understand how a missing persons search works." She explains the procedure. There are different phases. In the first 72 hours after a missing person report, it is conceivable to find the missing person still alive. The mountain rescue service - here too only volunteers are active - searches for as large an area as possible in this phase with as many helpers as possible. That's what happened after the missing persons report on August 10th. For days they searched between Brauneck and Benediktenwand, later between Jachenau and Vorderriß. Up to 60 active people were in action - together with dogs, the Alpine Police Task Force, drones and a police helicopter.
"In the second phase between 72 hours and ten days, the general search area needs to be reduced," explains the 48-year-old. Also in this phase the mountain rescue service searched again. On August 17, efforts were concentrated on the north side of the Achselköpfe. The helpers rappelled down in order to be able to search under the dense mountain pines, for example. Since there were no further concrete indications of the whereabouts of the Canadian, the official search was suspended for the time being.
The mountain rescuers continued to support the family's private efforts and advised the team of volunteers. For example, a map with "no-go areas" was developed, risky areas that should not be searched on their own because the risk of a crash is simply too high.
Susanne Williams' team also narrowed down the search area step by step. After privately organised helicopter flights, areas such as the Birkkarspitze, but also various trenches were excluded.
In the third phase, the probabilistic search began. "From the place where there was the last sign of life, you go the way that the missing person has taken" - "with the eyes and feet of a lowlander," Williams clarifies. An assessment (high, medium, low) is then made for each position: Has the missing man been here? Can you crash here? Would a crash cause serious/fatal injuries? Is it easy to miss the person you are looking for?
The south side of the Achselköpfe thus became the focus of the search for volunteers. Moreover, at one point on the ridge Susanne Williams discovered broken branches. In the fall line, the dead man was found on Saturday.
BBM
Since Saturday morning it is a sad fact: The missing Canadian hiker Jeff Freiheit is dead. A team of volunteers and his family found the 32-year-old at the foot of the Achselköpfe.
Lenggries - A short video, taken in front of the Brauneck Panorama Restaurant on the morning of August 2, was Jeff Freiheit's last sign of life. Afterwards, the trail of the 32-year-old, who was on the "Traumpfad" long-distance hiking trail from Munich to Venice, disappeared somewhere between Tölzer and Tutzinger Hütte. Mountain rescue service and police searched for days for the 32-year-old from Brandon/Manitoba. Later, volunteers took over. They were the ones who found the body on Saturday.
The volunteer search was structured by Susanne Williams. The 48-year-old wilderness guide has lived in Jachenau for seven years. After a business trip to the USA, she heard about the missing persons search from a friend and decided to help the family - on a voluntary basis, like so many others from the region. For her, it was "a matter of the heart," she emphasizes. On Saturday, nine volunteers - including Kathy, the mother of the missing man, and his best friend, a Canadian police officer, met near the Vorderen Scharnitzalm. After a short briefing around 11.20 o'clock the circle search began in the dense mountain pine growth on the south side of the Achselköpfe. "Kathy saw his shoe a short time later and then his backpack," Susanne Williams tells. At 11:40 a.m., the group dialed 911.
According to the police, the 32-year-old's body was hidden inside a dense mountain pine field. The rescue took place with the help of a police helicopter, two mountain guides of the Alpine task force of the police headquarters Upper Bavaria South and members of the Lenggrieser mountain rescue service.
On the basis of current investigations, the police assume that on his way to the Tutzinger Hütte, Freiheit "may have strayed from the planned route and subsequently crashed 60 to 100 metres to his death," according to Jürgen Thalmeier, press officer of the Upper Bavaria South Police Headquarters. There are currently no indications of any third-party involvement.
Due to the condition of the body an examination at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Munich is necessary for the unambiguous identification of the deceased, Thalmeier said. In the backpack found there was also Jeff Freiheit's Canadian passport.
On Sunday, it was a matter of great concern to his mother Kathy to thank all the helpers who supported the family in their search. She is filled with "overwhelming gratitude for all who were part of this sad journey," she writes in the specially founded Facebook group "Volunteers searching for Jeff Freiheit," that has more than 500 members. Susanne Williams also emphasizes how overwhelming the great commitment of the many volunteers was. "It's been an absolute honor working with them." She would also like to thank the alpine farmers of the Vorderen Scharnitzalm and the Bichleralm. "They supported us so much."
It is also important for Susanne Williams not to criticise the work of the mountain rescue service. "Those who criticize in this matter do not understand how a missing persons search works." She explains the procedure. There are different phases. In the first 72 hours after a missing person report, it is conceivable to find the missing person still alive. The mountain rescue service - here too only volunteers are active - searches for as large an area as possible in this phase with as many helpers as possible. That's what happened after the missing persons report on August 10th. For days they searched between Brauneck and Benediktenwand, later between Jachenau and Vorderriß. Up to 60 active people were in action - together with dogs, the Alpine Police Task Force, drones and a police helicopter.
"In the second phase between 72 hours and ten days, the general search area needs to be reduced," explains the 48-year-old. Also in this phase the mountain rescue service searched again. On August 17, efforts were concentrated on the north side of the Achselköpfe. The helpers rappelled down in order to be able to search under the dense mountain pines, for example. Since there were no further concrete indications of the whereabouts of the Canadian, the official search was suspended for the time being.
The mountain rescuers continued to support the family's private efforts and advised the team of volunteers. For example, a map with "no-go areas" was developed, risky areas that should not be searched on their own because the risk of a crash is simply too high.
Susanne Williams' team also narrowed down the search area step by step. After privately organised helicopter flights, areas such as the Birkkarspitze, but also various trenches were excluded.
In the third phase, the probabilistic search began. "From the place where there was the last sign of life, you go the way that the missing person has taken" - "with the eyes and feet of a lowlander," Williams clarifies. An assessment (high, medium, low) is then made for each position: Has the missing man been here? Can you crash here? Would a crash cause serious/fatal injuries? Is it easy to miss the person you are looking for?
The south side of the Achselköpfe thus became the focus of the search for volunteers. Moreover, at one point on the ridge Susanne Williams discovered broken branches. In the fall line, the dead man was found on Saturday.
BBM
PinkPrincessPoop
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RIP Jeff! Thanks to everyone for all the updates.
whatsnext
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This gave me the goosebumps all over, to think that his mother (with others) found him....a cruel moment when you have to face reality, I guess. My heart is with all his loved ones
I’ve read that she wanted to stay and search while his wife had to fly back home. Also it’s been noted that it makes it “easier” for her to accept the truth when it’s there in front of you. I find it a somewhat comforting that it wasn’t a group of strangers who happened upon him. Me too though... goosebumps.This gave me the goosebumps all over, to think that his mother (with others) found him....a cruel moment when you have to face reality, I guess. My heart is with all his loved ones
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