Fears for 77-year-old

Search operation for vacationer (78) in the Stubai Valley

A major search operation involving the mountain rescue service and fire department has been underway since Wednesday evening in the Neustift area of the Stubai Valley in Tyrol. A 77-year-old vacationer is missing.

The man left his accommodation in Neugasteig (municipality of Neustift) at around 12.30 pm on May 1st. According to the police, he wanted to go on a hike, but did not disclose his destination. The Austrian-born man, who lives in Belgium and is currently on vacation in the Stubai Valley, did not return afterwards. The alarm was raised in the evening.

There were no concrete clues as to where the man might be.

Bergretter Florian Falkner

Search operation aborted during the night
The Neustift mountain rescue team and four mountain rescue dog handlers from the Innsbruck and Imst districts launched a major search operation. "There were no concrete clues as to where the man might be," says Oetz mountain rescuer Florian Falkner, who took part in the search with his dog "Grisu". The operation was initially interrupted at around 3 a.m. with no results.

Continuation with great effort
The search has continued since Thursday morning. In addition to mountain rescuers with search dogs and 35 firefighters, the water rescue service is also involved, as well as a police helicopter and search dogs. The entire area from Volderau to Kösbach was searched thoroughly, but in vain. The vacationer is still missing. Today, the emergency services want to make further attempts to find the man.