A fatal hiking accident occurred near the state line near Unken. Recreational athletes discovered the man who died in a creek bed.
On Friday afternoon, a group of canyoning athletes found a male corpse in Fischbach, in the border area between Bavaria and Salzburg, in the municipality of Ruhpolding. Investigations by the Ruhpolding police station and the convened alpine task force revealed that the dead man was an 82-year-old hiker from the district of Altötting, who had apparently been alone and had wandered off the path and then fallen down the steep wooded slope into the stream bed. The man’s body had to be recovered by a police helicopter.
The canyoning group was on a hike on the Fischbach coming from the Heutal (Unken) in the direction of Ruhpolding. The group’s guide came across a dead body in the creek bed. As there was no mobile phone network available in this area, the guide had to continue and was only able to inform the Ruhpolding police station at the end of the stream. A Ruhpolding police patrol managed to locate the fatally wounded man from the northern Altotting district at the scene.
The 82-year-old is obviously a climber who was likely heading from Ruhpolding towards or back from the dust fall and, for reasons that are still unclear, fell down steep forest terrain to the creek bed. Due to the rough terrain in the site area, a land rescue was not possible. Two mountain guides from the Grassau Alpine task force and the Edelweiß police helicopter were requested for further support.
Alpine officials recorded the accident at the scene and recovered the body. Further investigations into the cause of the accident are being conducted in cooperation with the public prosecutor in Traunstein. Investigators are assuming the accident was tragic as there is no evidence of third party involvement.