The melting of glaciers in the Swiss Alps has revealed more than just the ground beneath them, as bodies of long-missing persons have been uncovered as the ice retreats.
The most recent example occurred July 26 when a hiker on the Trift Glacier discovered the remains of two mountaineers who had been missing since 1992 – according to Swiss police.
Authorities identified the found remains as two male Belgian nationals who were 39 and 41 years old when they disappeared. DNA analysis identified the remains "beyond doubt," officials said.
The discovery of remains has become a regular occurrence in the region, as climate change has affected ecosystems around the world.
"Due to the retreat of the glaciers, it happens again and again that the mortal remains
of people who disappeared in the mountains several decades ago come to light," Swiss authorities said Aug. 19 in an announcement of the lastest discovery.
Local police said they maintain a record of missing persons reports dating back to 1925. They described the list as "mainly people who have disappeared in the high mountains or in rivers and bodies of water."
The Swiss Alps are not the only place where melting glaciers have recently revealed remains.
In 2025, the body of Dennis "Tink" Bell, a 25-year-old man who died on an Antarctic glacier in 1959, was found by a Polish expedition, according to the BBC. That same year the body of a 31-year-old Pakistani man who had been missing for 28 years was found near the edge of a melting glacier in Pakistan, CBS News reported at the time.
Remains also appear as Lake Mead dries
Ecosystem changes have also revealed remains in the American Southwest.
Authorities are investigating human remains found Aug. 16 at Lake Mead outside Las Vegas, the latest gruesome discovery there as the largest U.S. reservoir continues emptying.
The National Park Service in a statement said there is no indication that the most recent body found Aug. 16 is suspicious. The Clark County Coroner's Office said investigators are working to identify the cause and manner of death.
In 2022, boaters discovered a still-unidentified body stuffed inside a barrel in the Hemenway Harbor area of the lake. Investigators said the man inside the barrel appeared to have been shot, possibly sometime in the mid-1970s to early 1980s, based on his clothes and footwear. At the time he was shot, Lake Mead was almost completely full and the water in the area would have been at least 20 to 30 feet deeper.
Experts say Lake Mead's proximity to Las Vegas – 20 miles from the Strip as the crow flies – makes it highly likely that there are more bodies to be discovered in the lake, especially given the reputation of Sin City as a home for the mob.
The lake's receding waters are also uncovering ghost towns flooded when the Hoover Dam was built, along with prehistoric salt mines.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bodies discovered in Swiss Alps as melting glaciers reveal remains
