Missing for eight months – hiker dies while taking selfie

Because all indications indicate that the 57-year-old fell more than 100 meters while shooting in the Lechtaler Alps. His brother (49), who lives in Linz, surprisingly found Martin S.’s camera on a “Steinmandl” on Saturday during an independent search in the area of ​​the Mittlerer Kreuzjoch near Nassereith (Tirol).

Brother warned the police
The man from Linz immediately alerted the police, who then scanned the area around the site with a helicopter and made a gruesome discovery. The 57-year-old lay dead by a rock, hard to see from the air. “There have been several house searches in the past, all of which have unfortunately been unsuccessful,” says the Imst district police. Because shortly after S. went missing, it had already snowed. But even after the snow cleared, there were further searches involving mountain rescuers and helicopters.

car found
The 57-year-old went on an alpine tour to the “Loreakopf” for the first time on October 17. At the time, he had to cancel a planned hike because of the weather. His vehicle was found in a hotel parking lot along Fernpassbundesstraße (B 179).

Forensic autopsy ordered
On October 18, he should have started the mountain tour between Loreakopf, Roter Stein and Kreuzjoch. The accident with the camera happened under the southern Kreuzjoch at 2230 meters altitude. Apparently Martin S. wanted to take a picture of himself with the self timer. He made a mistake on the climb he had barely climbed and fell 100 meters to his death.

His body was recovered by the police helicopter “Libelle” on Saturday afternoon and flown to Nassereith. The prosecutor on duty ordered an autopsy, the results of which were not yet available on Sunday. The Tyrolean detectives assume an accident.