Former ski racer Blanca Fernández Ochoa, who has been missing for eleven days, is dead. She was found in a mountain near Madrid, the Spanish police said.
According to police sources, El País newspaper reports that the body of the 56-year-old Olympic medalist was discovered at the summit of La Peñota mountain in the Sierra de Guadarrama. Accordingly, she is said to have a severe head injury, presumably from a fall.
¡¡URGENTE !! ocalLocalizado el vehículo que conducía Blanca Fdez. Ochoa en una localidad próxima a #Madrid. Los investigadores continún trabajando para localizar a la deportista. Gracias por vuestra colaboración. #SomosTuPolicia
- Policía Nacional (@policia) 1 September 2019Hundreds of emergency teams - including policemen with detection dogs, the civil guard and volunteers - had been combing the hiking area for days. Recently, drones had been used in the partly rough terrain.
Top politicians such as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed their condolences to the family on Twitter. "She wrote history for our sport and left us too early," wrote Albert Rivera, head of the liberal party Ciudadanos.
Manteníamos la esperanza de que el desenlace fora otro, pero se ha confirmado lo peor. Descanse en paz # BlancaFernándezOchoa, una histórica de nuestro deporte que nos deja demasiado pronto. Wed más sentido pésame para su familia y allegados. https://t.co/0FL52dGGxz
- Albert Rivera (@Albert_Rivera) 4 September 2019Spanish sports minister José Guirao described the death of the "great athlete" as "terrible news for the world of sport".
Fernández Ochoa had won in 1992 Olympic bronze 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. Her disappearance had not only made headlines in her homeland in the past few days.
She told her family she wanted to go hiking for five days. When she had not returned after that time, the relatives had informed the authorities.
On Sunday, their car was finally found near Cercedilla in the Sierra de Guadarrama in a parking lot - in an area where many trekking trails start.
