This is an archive article published on June 17, 2024
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Missing American base jumper found dead in Himachal’s Spiti Valley, shooting stones halt recovery of body
Trevor Bokstaahlar went missing on June 13 while visiting Spiti Valley and his father informed the Lahaul and Spiti police about his disappearance.
Due to the risk posed by falling rocks, the search team has not yet been able to retrieve the body of Trevor Bokstaahlar, who disappeared on Thursday while visiting Spiti Valley. (Express Photos)
Three days after he went missing, a 31-year-old American base jumper was found dead in a ravine between Kee and Tashigang at Spiti Valley in the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh on Sunday. The search team has not been able to retrieve the body of Trevor Bokstaahlar, who disappeared on Thursday while visiting Spiti Valley, due to the risk posed by falling rocks.
A source said, “Due to the shooting stones from cliffs, rescue teams kept the body in a safe place Sunday evening. A joint team of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Dogra Regiment, and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) went up the mountains again to retrieve the body this morning”.
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The police said the victim’s belongings are still missing, and efforts are being made to trace them. Bokstaahlar’s family members are expected to arrive in India on Sunday. His father is in touch with the police officials of the Lahaul and Spiti district.
Sources said police learned that the victim was a base jumper from his father who alerted them about his son’s disappearance from Kaza in Himachal. Base jumping is a sport in which a person jumps from a fixed place and uses a parachute to slow down before the ground is reached. Sources also said that images of the victim’s body were shared with his family. Meanwhile, it is yet to be confirmed whether the victim’s parachute was his personal or rented.
Mayank Chaudhary, Superintendent of Police, Lahaul and Spiti, said, “A rented motorcycle of the victim was found abandoned near Tashigang on June 13. Until June 15, there were no clues about the body. On June 16, we noticed a bunch of scavengers (vultures, eagles) hovering over a particular object. Using binoculars, we concluded that there was a human body.”
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“On June 14, with the help of the Dogra Regiment of the Army, a drone identified a parachute lodged in a deep ravine between Kee and Tashigang. Subsequently, on June 15, specialized teams from the ITBP and the SDRF were deployed to conduct a rescue operation,” SP Chaudhary added.
The police said the body, after it is retrieved, would be handed over to the victim’s kin after a postmortem examination.
Due to the risk posed by falling rocks, the search team has not yet been able to retrieve the body of Trevor Bokstaahlar, who disappeared on Thursday while visiting Spiti Valley. (Express Photos) 
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