The mountain rescue services help with large-scale search operations when mountaineers do not return from their tours.
Last year five hikers went missing without a trace.
When hikers do not return from their mountain tours, the police and mountain rescue services look for a large number.
However, not all missing persons can be resolved immediately.
Of the five missing mountaineers from last year, there is still no sign of life.
Munich
- In mid-October last year, 21-year-old Valentin W. from Untermeitingen (Augsburg district) set out to climb the Watzmann.
Since then, there has been no trace of the young man.
His parents reported him missing shortly after he left.
Valentin W. is one of five missing hikers last year whose cases have not yet been clarified.
For days, rescuers and rescue workers searched the mountains for the 21-year-old, who is described as an experienced mountaineer.
“He was out in the mountains almost every day.
He has already exceeded the Watzmann several times, ”the father reported to the Augsburger Allgemeine
21-year-old missing after a tour of the Watzmann - emergency services have to cancel the search
But helicopters, dog teams and the search of the mountain rescue team were unsuccessful.
Shortly afterwards, the search on the mountain had to be stopped - the weather conditions with fresh snow posed too great a danger for the emergency services.
However, the search for Valentin W. has not been completely stopped, as Stefan Sonntag from the Upper Bavaria South Police explains.
Unresolved cases of missing climbers are not uncommon.
The number from last year is comparable to previous years.
Mountaineers disappear without a trace - waiting for better weather conditions
In the Valentin W. case, as in two other cases of missing hikers, the investigation continued.
“Just not on the mountain,” says Sonntag.
The search is currently interrupted there.
However, Roland Ampenberger from Bergwacht Bayern explains that this is not the case for good.
Rather, one waits for more clues to be able to set off again - and for better weather conditions.
Here, the police and rescue workers are mainly hoping for spring - when the snow and ice have disappeared, the search becomes easier.
Until then, the police will continue to investigate the missing person in the private and professional environment, explains Sonntag.
There is no sign of life from the Munich resident - a summit book entry is the last clue
Since a mountain tour in July there has not been a single sign of life from Renate B. from Munich.
Most recently she had entered the summit book on the Pflasterbachhorn (Bad Reichenhall).
Her husband reported her missing shortly afterwards.
The following search for the 53-year-old with drones, alpine dogs and up to 30 mountain rescue workers was canceled a few days later without any result.
In September the police found the locked car of the missing Hans-Jürgen B on a parking lot in Ruhpolding (Traunstein district). Two days earlier, the hiker was reported missing.
Since then, there has been no trace of the 54-year-old from Traunstein.
However, the police do not always expect an accident in the mountains if a person disappears without a trace.
In a few cases, one must assume suicide, reported Sonntag.
In the case of Renate B. from Munich and Hans-Jürgen B. from Traunstein, the Traunstein Criminal Police can neither rule out an accident nor intent, says the police spokesman.
In the Allgäu, too, relatives of two missing hikers from last year are still plagued by uncertainty.
In mid-February, a 55-year-old vacationer set out on a ski tour in Oberstdorf - but the man never returned to the local hotel.
Seven months later, a 62-year-old started a hike from Fellhorn near Oberstdorf.
His destination was the Söllereck - but he never got there.
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