Missing Brit, 33, who vanished while hiking in Italian Alps found dead near the spot where he sent his final text
A British tourist who went missing while hiking in Italy has been found dead near where the spot where he sent one of his final texts.
Listen to this article
Matthew Hall, 33, vanished on July 9 after sending a message to friends saying he was lost. The 'competent' walker had only just headed into the mountains for a hike.
Rescue teams found his body in a crevice near where he sent his final texts. Searchers used a helicopter to recover the body due to the high risk involved.
A body was found at 7pm local time and his family members were informed, Italian police said.
His friends had flown out to Italy to assist in search efforts alongside his mother Sara Foster. His father is expected to arrive on Friday.
Read more: Missing boy, 11, found after 'hundreds of locals' joined frantic search
Read more: Body found after hundreds join search for missing Army sergeant who disappeared from camp
Mr Hall, from Hull, had been staying in a B&B at Valchiavenna near Sondrio when he went missing. He was set to fly back from Milan to Manchester on 12 July.
The B&B owner grew concerned when the experienced hiker never checked out. Workers entered his room and found all his personal belongings apart from his backpack. Meanwhile, he was unreachable as his phone was switched off.
In a final text sent to friend Jacob White at 13.37 BST on the day of his disappearance, Mr Hall wrote that he had taken 'a wrong turn' on a trail.
But Mr White said he 'sounded relaxed' in the text, and that it seemed 'as if any danger he might have seen was over'.
He had also sent an image of a landmark at Alpe Daloo near San Giacomo Filippo to pals and family which is on a well-trodden path.
Rescue teams used this as a key reference point for their search.
Mr Hall worked as an engineer for IT firm Quickline, which he joined in January 2023.
The company described him as a "well-liked colleague" and previously said it was hoping for a "safe and positive outcome".
Mr Hall is the latest Brit to have been found dead while hiking in the Italian mountains in recent months.
The body of Aziz Ziriat who vanished on New Year's Day during a hiking trip with his friend, was found in May.
The Brit, 36, went missing hiking in the Italian Dolomites with Samuel Harris, 35.
Mr Harris' body was found back in January.