The body of an American mountaineer, who went missing 22 years ago following an avalanche in the Peruvian Andes, has been discovered by a pair of fellow US climbers. American brothers Ryan Cooper and Wesley Waren found the body of Bill Stampfl on June 27 on Mount Huascaran, according to Joseph Stampfl, Bill’s son.
The climbers had been descending the mountain in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca after an unsuccessful attempt to reach its 22,000 ft summit when they found the body at about 16,500 ft. Cooper mentioned that the ice had preserved the body and its belongings, with Stampfl’s wedding ring, helmet, mountain climbing boots, and jacket all intact.
The brothers were able to identify Stampfl by locating a bag attached to his body, inside which they found his identification card, a camera, passport, wallet, and glasses – all of which were also intact. Cooper expressed, “Someone loved him and someone wanted him to come home.”
Stampfl, along with two of his friends, Steve Erskine and Matthew Richardson, were killed by an avalanche on Mount Huascaran on June 24, 2002, as shared by Stampfl’s daughter Jennifer Stampfl. While the bodies of Erskine and Richardson were never found, Stampfl’s body has now been retrieved and brought down the mountain on July 5 by the Peruvian Mountain Rescue Association and Peruvian National Police.
Peru’s National Police reported that Stampfl’s body was taken to a morgue in the town of Yungay for an autopsy. The US State Department confirmed the death of a US citizen in Peru and extended their condolences to the family, thanking the mountaineers and the Peruvian National Police rescue team for their efforts in the operation.
