A search is continuing for a missing Brit professor in the Chilean desert with local police reconstructing paths he may have taken and testing possible clues.
Prof Tom Marsh, 60, an astrophysicist at the University of Warwick , was last spoken to near the La Silla observatory on September 16.
Colleagues are “worried and anxious” but they are “hugely hopeful” that he will be found alive, the university’s provost Prof Chris Ennew told the BBC.
Adrian Vega, the regional prosecutor in Coquimbo, Chile, has reportedly said that the search is carrying on “painstakingly” as they look for traces of the professor, and certain materials are being tested by scientists in labs.
The investigation is centring on the route he would have taken between his hotel and the observatory.
Mr Vega said that the terrain has been studied and “there are certain signs or indications in certain areas where he may have walked”, reported El Dia.
Police have also been following advice from Prof Marsh’s family on trails he would like to take, said Prof Ennew.
“They are trying to understand the places that he knew, the places he would like to walk. They know he was an experienced walker who could cover quite significant distances, so they are being very much guided by the family,” she told the BBC.
She also said that the big benefit of local search teams is that they “understand the terrain” and are also accustomed to “working at altitude”.
Police have been using dogs, drones and planes with thermal imaging.
And particular attention is being given to an area by the Cerro La Silla peak where Prof Marsh could have started on a paved path and then there are various routes around gullies and ravines, police sources told El Dia.
Mr Vega said: “We have put all our human and material resources available in the area surrounding the La Silla observatory so as to search certain possible areas and those where there maybe some evidence of Prof Marsh, which we are verifying in laboratories.”
Prof Marsh, from Rugby, was working as a visiting astronomer at the European Southern Observatory when he suddenly went missing.
His family said in an initial statement after he went missing: “We are deeply concerned for Tom and miss him, and would ask anyone who may any have information on his whereabouts to please help.”
Warwickshire Police said: “We have been made aware of a Warwickshire resident who has been reported missing in Chile, 60-year-old Professor Tom Marsh, who is from the Rugby area, had been visiting La Silla Observatory in the country on a research trip.
“Officers from Warwickshire Police are in contact with the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Interpol, as well as Chilean authorities.
“Specialist officers are also supporting Professor Marsh’s family.”
