He has not given any sign of life since the beginning of September: a British mountaineer disappears in the Hautes-Alpes, an appeal for witnesses launched

Un appel a témoins a été lancé. GENDARMERIE

Un alpiniste de 70 ans est porté disparu dans les Hautes-Alpes depuis le début du mois de septembre. Un appel à témoins vient d’être lancé.

A British mountaineer has been missing since early September in the Écrins massif (Hautes-Alpes), south of the Alps, with searches by rescue services failing to find him so far, the French justice system said on Tuesday.

Failed searches

Kirk Handley, born in 1954, was due to go to the Pic du Glacier d'Arsine (3,364 metres above sea level) and return on 10 September. His family in England reported him missing on September 13, the Gap prosecutor's office (south-east of France) told AFP.

The alert was raised due to the prolonged presence of his vehicle in the town of Villar-d'Arène, around thirty km from Briançon.

“To date, the search has not allowed” the mountaineer to be found, the prosecutor's office said on Tuesday.

An investigation open

The searches on foot, by air and by drone must continue on September 25. A helicopter will also come to support to try to find the septuagenarian.

An investigation was opened Sunday for a worrying disappearance and entrusted to the high mountain gendarmerie platoon (PGHM) of Briançon.