The disappearance of Spanish former ski racer and Olympic medalist Blanca Fernández Ochoa has triggered a massive search operation near Madrid. Police and civil guards scoured a hiking area in the Sierra de Guadarrama with a hundred or so dogs and dozens of volunteers.
The 56-year-old was last seen on August 23 in the district of Aravaca in Madrid, said the Spanish National Police on Twitter. The authority asked the population for clues.
On Sunday, her car had been found near Cercedilla outside of Madrid in a parking lot. Nearby there are numerous hiking trails. From the former athlete but initially lacked any trace. Her family reports media reports that Fernández Ochoa - who is said to have known the popular excursion region - died in an accident.
Fernández Ochoa had won four World Cup races in her career and won Olympic bronze in 1992 as the highlight of her career in Albertville in the slalom. It was the second and until today the last Olympic medal for Spain in the alpine competitions. The first had taken her brother Francisco (1950-2006) years earlier, when he won gold in the Slalom in Sapporo in 1972.
