The remains of a 26-year-old Indian techie who died after falling into a gorge while hiking at a national park in the US have been recovered. Siddhant Vitthal Patil, a tech professional, was hiking at Glacier National Park when he fell into Avalanche Creek on July 6.
His body was found by rangers almost a month after his death, a statement issued by the Glacier National Park officials said. The statement said a park visitor alerted authorities about a body in Avalanche Creek below the gorge. "Rangers immediately began recovery efforts. Flathead County coroner is working to confirm identity through DNA or dental records," ANI quoted the statement. It added that the clothes and gear found near the body matched what Patil was said to be wearing at the time of the incident.
The Rangers also suspect that the body was being held underwater by submerged obstacles such as fallen trees or rocks. The search was hampered by water depth and whitewater conditions during spring and summer runoff. "Rangers could only investigate the large portions of the gorge with long poles after the water level dropped but were not able to reach the deepest and most dangerous areas," said the statement.
Patil's family confirmed that the US ranger officials informed them of Siddhant's body being found. The victim's uncle, Pritesh Chaudhari told ANI that he was thankful to the rangers for their search efforts. He also thanked Indian American community leader Prem Bhandari, who supported the family throughout the search. "When I spoke to the Park officials they offered condolences to the family and hoped that recovering the body would help bring closure to loved ones. The next step is to repatriate the mortal remains to the family who have been grieving for more than 28 days," he told ANI.
According to his family, Siddhant went hiking with his friends on July 6. He, however, got diverted from the trail and fell into the Avalanche Creek. It is unclear how he fell as he was standing on a large rock. Eyewitnesses saw him fall into the creek, go underwater, resurface briefly, and then be swept away by the current into the gorge.
Though the Rangers were alerted and a search launched immediately, his remains could not be found. During the past four weeks, ground search efforts continued from the gorge to the bridge on the Trail of the Cedars. Drones were also used to search the gorge.
