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The baffling disappearance and death of Aidan Roche near the Eiger in the Swiss Alps
Aidan Roche disappeared June 22, 2023, Eiger Trail, near Grindelwald, Swiss Alps, Switzerland. Body found September 12, 2023
Updated July 2024
29-year-old Aidan Roche, an offshore chemical engineer from Middlesbrough in the U.K., sent his last messages to family and friends on June 22, 2023, from the Eiger trail near the Eiger in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland. After this, nothing further has been heard from him. He was on the twelfth day of a two-week trip. His campervan that he was using to travel across Europe was found nearby and unusually unlocked, with no trace of Aidan. He had vanished, and several months later, nothing had turned up.
The Eiger trail he was hiking is considered “a moderately challenging route”. According to AllTrails, “ This is a very popular area for hiking, so you'll likely encounter other people while exploring. The best times to visit this trail are June through September.” Not a trail known for missing persons despite its popularity.
On Sunday, September 24, 2023, Aidan's older brother Connor confirmed that police found Aidan near the trail he was walking. He thanked all those who helped and donated, saying that, through all of the uncertainty and anguish, the support showed "just how loved Aidan was."
What is puzzling is how Aidan died on that popular trail used by thousands of people each year in benign conditions. Did he get lost or fall? What his death self-inflicted? The Swiss authorities have released no information on the body's condition or cause of death as of mid-October 2023.
An inquest held on January 2024 concluded Aidan had died from a fall on June 22, 2023, for reasons unknown. It was likely a case of misadventure.
More about Aidan Roche
Aidan grew up in Longlands, a central Middlesbrough neighbourhood in the U.K., and lived in Leeds when he went missing. He had planned to move back to Middlesbrough after his trip.
Aidan was a 6ft 2in, 13 stone, experienced hiker and camper with a distinct tattoo on his arm reading, “MAYASWELLMAYSENYA”.
He had been a keen hiker with the rest of his family from the age of three and had summited peaks like Ben Nevis and Snowden countless times. His family said, “He always takes a survival blanket type thing and a whistle, as well as his Garmin [fitness tracker] watch. This is what he does when he is not working, he is really prepared."
The search for Aidan
When Aidan was declared missing in late June, the Swiss authorities launched a search operation involving police, mountain rescue units, dogs, and drones, lasting five days.
His brothers Connor Roche, 32, and Niall Roche, 31, retraced Aidan’s steps on the Eiger Trail after raising more than £30,000 for an official search, including helicopter use. However, they did not find any evidence. They spent around 15 days scouring the Eiger Trail and surrounding areas.
On July 7, his family took out screen advertisements at twenty-four locations across the region in Switzerland, including petrol stations, shops, and shopping centers.
In early August 2023, his family released the last videos Aidan is believed to have taken before he vanished. A video taken at 11:36 a.m. places Roche a short distance from the village of Grindelwald, which sits at the foot of the Eiger mountain. Friends say this is the last footage he sent to them. In the footage, Aidan pans around the Swiss Alps and captures an unknown woman in a baseball cap sitting on a bench and several hikers coming in his direction.
The family also released Aidan’s last text messages before he went missing, sent to an unnamed friend, where he wrote: “Hello, hello. I should be in Grindelwald in about two hours,” followed by a picture of the view from the trail, and his final message: “I’m still pretty high. I’ll see you back at camp.”
On 21 July, the family had already flown back to Switzerland to continue the search, focusing first on the location where the pictures and videos were taken and where the messages were last sent. They were forced to continue the search alone after the Swiss police and mountain rescue team ended their efforts after “exhausting” every option.
Connor Roche said the family were “all missing Aidan so much” and that dealing with “the unknown” was the most challenging thing. “I try and keep up hope that maybe he’s decided to wander off, or he’s hit his head and forgotten who he is, but I have to drag myself back to what we actually know and the evidence suggests that he’s still on the mountain and we haven’t found him yet. There’s the outside chance that he has some crazy survival story. You can’t help but imagine the worst of things sometimes, especially with it being this long since he went missing. But then you feel guilty for imagining those things. Right now we just need more information, anything that can help us find him and bring him home.”
Niall explained how the search effort went, “There’s none of his bag or anything that he had with him. It doesn’t make sense how we haven’t found anything. From the timestamp of the picture he sent, it’s about 90 minutes of hiking and it’s not particularly difficult. All of that trail and beneath the trail and beneath all the rock faces beneath the trail... We've searched thoroughly. There is not a trace.”
Close friend teacher Beth Taylor, 26, said, “This is awful – we all just need to know what has happened to him. He’d never just disappear like this. There isn’t a day that goes by normally without him making contact with friends and family, sharing pictures or videos. We’re part of a massive group of really close friends – he wouldn’t just randomly go missing.”
The Eiger and Eiger Trail
The Eiger is one of three main peaks in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau are the three mountains that dominate the landscape near the village of Grindelwald. Jungfrau, at 4,158 meters, is the tallest of the three, but the Eiger, at 3,967 meters, is a popular rock climbing destination.
Renowned for bad weather and difficult rock conditions, the face is nick-named “Mordwand”, a play on the German name of Nordwand (North face) which means “death wall”.
Although the north face now has several routes, by far the most famous and popular is the original route, known as the 1938 route. The route, and the first ascent of the north face, was completed on July 24, 1938, by four climbers; Heinrich Harrer, Anderl Heckmair, Ludwig Vörg and Fritz Kasparek. At least sixty-four climbers have been killed on the Eiger since 1935.
Early attempts and ascents were made in summer, but, due to global warming, the entire face has become increasingly unstable, and the icefields have receded dramatically, meaning the route has now become a target only in late autumn, winter, and early spring. Made up of poor-quality limestone, climbers rely on winter ice and snow to bond the rock together, meaning summer ascents these days are infrequent.
The trail that Aidan was last seen on is called the Eiger Trail. It starts at Eigergletscher (Eiger Glacier Station) and ends in Alpiglen (using the downward direction). To do this hike, you take a train to Eigergletscher station and, at the end of the hike, take a second train from Alpiglen to the starting point. The hike gives very scenic views of the Eiger and the surrounding area.
Key questions on the case
Why was the camper van left unlocked? This was unusual.
How could Aidan have vanished on a popular trail route with many other hikers in good weather conditions? On June 22, 2023, temperatures ranged between 60 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit, with clear sunny skies.
Was the woman sitting on the bench in the final video relevant to the story?
The inquest
A short inquest was held in Middlesbrough on Monday, January 25, 2024, after the repatriation of the remains from Switzerland.
Assistant coroner for Teesside, Karin Welsh, said a pathologist found that Aidan died from head and chest injuries consistent with a fall, "Aidan had gone on holiday to the Swiss Alps and planned to spend a few weeks travelling, climbing and walking. He was last in touch on June 22. He was due to return on July 1 but did not return. His campervan had been noticed on June 30 where he had left it.
It is not uncommon for camper vans to be left while people are off walking but the Swiss authorities carried out a search for Aidan but were unable to find him, bearing in mind the terrain of the area. He was found on September 12 and declared dead. What he was wearing and the area where he was found tends to suggest he had fallen on June 22 most likely, which is when his smart watch stopped sending signals."
Welsh said that the reason for the fall could not be determined given the passage of time, "It appears from all the information collated that Aidan died as the result of a fall, but we will never be certain for the reason that fall occurred. That fall resulted in his death and most likely happened on June 22."
She recorded that Aidan died as the result of an accident and told his family: "I am so sorry for your loss. It is very difficult to deal with something like this as a family." His family left the hearing without comment.
Other strange stories from Switzerland
The strange disappearance and death of Myles Robinson in Switzerland’s Wengen Ski resort
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Sources
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/aidan-roche-missing-swiss-alps-man-hike-b1098626.html
https://www.earthtrekkers.com/eiger-trail-hike-bernese-oberland-switzerland/
https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/north_face_of_the_eiger_-_1938_route-3652
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12364091/Missing-Aidan-Roche-British-hiker-29-vanishes-Swiss-Alps-desperate-family-friends-share-footage-took-woman-background-disappeared-three-weeks-ago.html
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/aidan-roche-missing-swiss-alps-b2388108.html
https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/local-news/eerie-last-messages-yorkshire-hiker-27462249
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/25/british-hiker-aidan-roche-found-dead-switzerland-alps
https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/hiking-engineer-aidan-roche-died-28885180