A longstanding mystery has finally been solved. The remains of a researcher who has been missing since 1959 was located near an Antarctic glacier. The body of the 25-year-old was found after six decades.
The remains were just bones after all this time. But they belonged to meteorologist Dennis "Tink" Bell. He died after falling into a crevasse on a King George Island glacier. Authorities finally found his remains after the glacier receded. The British Antarctic Survey announced in a statement they found Tink in the Antarctic.
"I had long given up on finding my brother. It is just remarkable, astonishing. I can't get over it," his brother David Bell, 86, told BBC News.
"When my sister Valerie and I were notified that our brother Dennis had been found after 66 years, we were shocked and amazed," said David Bell in the BAS statement. "The British Antarctic Survey and British Antarctic Monument Trust have been a tremendous support and together, with the sensitivity of the Polish team in bringing him home, have helped us come to terms with the tragic loss of our brilliant brother."
Antarctic Explorer Found
"The confirmation of the remains found on Ecology Glacier as those of Dennis 'Tink' Bell is both a poignant and profound moment for all of us at British Antarctic Survey. Dennis was one of the many brave FIDS personnel who contributed to the early science and exploration of Antarctica under extraordinarily harsh conditions," said Professor Dame Jane Francis, BAS Director.
"Even though he was lost in 1959, his memory lived on among colleagues and in the legacy of polar research," Francis continued. "This discovery brings closure to a decades-long mystery and reminds us of the human stories embedded in the history of Antarctic science."
"It's wonderful, I'm going to meet my brother," he said to the outlet. "You might say we shouldn't be thrilled, but we are. He's been found - he's come home now."
