Remains of British researcher lost in Antarctica are FOUND after 66 years: DNA analysis confirms body under glacier belongs to Dennis 'Tink' Bell

Daily Mail​

4 days ago

On July 26, 1959, Dennis 'Tink' Bell, a 25 year-old British adventurer, set off on a survey expedition off the Antarctic Peninsula.
The Londoner, a radio operator and meteorologist, was conducting survey work with a colleague at Ecology Glacier, a remote icy wilderness flowing into Admiralty Bay.
But disaster struck when Dennis suddenly plummeted around 100ft through the ice and snow, and efforts to pull him up tragically proved fruitless.
For more than 65 years after the disaster, Mr Bell's body was sadly unaccounted for – but following a new expedition in the area, the brave researcher can now be put to rest.
Scientists at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have announced the discovery of Dennis' remains – among rocks exposed by the now-receding glacier.
His brother David, now living in Australia, said he and his sister Valerie are 'shocked and amazed' following the discovery.
'Dennis was the oldest of three siblings and was my hero as he seemed to be able to turn his hand to anything, servicing petrol engines, photography including processing his own films,' David said. 'He built a radio from scratch, spending hours taking down morse code.'
'Bringing him home has helped us come to terms with the tragic loss of our brilliant brother.'
Dennis 'Tink' Bell was brought up in Harrow, northwest London, before getting a job as a meteorologist at the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS), the predecessor of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
Keen for adventure, he was stationed for a two-year assignment at Admiralty Bay, a small UK base with half a dozen men, on King George Island off the northern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Dennis was known on base for his humour and larger than life character, his love of theatre and eating, and for being an excellent, if messy, chef.
Russel Thomson, a colleague and friend who was on base with him, described his practical jokes and spoke of his 'tremendous, tremendous character'.
That fateful Sunday, Dennis and his colleague Jeff Stokes ascended Ecology Glacier with sledges pulled by husky dogs, which were showing signs of tiredness.
To encourage them, Dennis went ahead to urge them on without his skis, and suddenly disappeared, leaving a gaping hole through which he had fallen.
Sir Vivian Fuchs, a previous director of BAS, describes the harrowing story of Bell's death in his book 'Of Ice and Men' published in 1982.
He wrote: 'Peering into the depths, Stokes called repeatedly and was greatly relieved to be answered. Lowering a rope almost a hundred feet, he told Bell to tie himself on.
Who was Dennis 'Tink' Bell?
Dennis Bell, known affectionately as 'Tink', was a British meteorologist, radio engineer and explorer.
Raised in London, he attended Harrow County School for Boys, now Harrow High School.
After leaving school and a brief period in insurance, Dennis Bell joined the Royal Air Force for National Service, trained as a radio operator.
He joined Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS), the predecessor of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), as a meteorologist in 1958.
He was stationed for a two-year assignment at Admiralty Bay when he tragically died in an Antarctic glacier.
'The dogs took the strain and began to pull. Now it was easy and everything was going well. But Bell had tied the rope through his belt instead of round his body, perhaps because of the angle at which he lay.'
Sir Vivian Fuchs continued: 'As he reached the top his body jammed against the lip, the belt broke, and down he went again. This time there was no reply to Stoke's calls.
'It was a particularly tragic fatality which one really felt should never have happened, and thus doubly grievous.'
Glaciers are always moving slowly, even though this can't usually be seen. The movement causes stress, which in turn causes cracking, making them potentially unstable.
Unfortunately, the efforts of Stokes and two other men to reach Bell, risking their own lives in 'terrible conditions' to do so were unsuccessful, and his remains were never found – until this year.
In January 2025, a team of researchers from the Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station on King George Island happened to be surveying the area of Admiralty Bay where Dennis went missing.
They found bones in the ice and rocks, which were carried to the Falkland Islands on the BAS Royal Research Ship Sir David Attenborough and returned to London.
The human remains were then sent for DNA testing by Denise Syndercombe Court, a professor in forensic genetics at King's College London.
She confirmed a match with DNA samples from his brother David Bell and his sister Valerie Kelly – which are 'more than one billion times' more likely to be related than not.
Sadly, Jeff Stokes, who was with 'Tink' at the time of his death, died five weeks ago before hearing the news that Dennis's remains had been found.
However, his brother David will soon visit England where he and his sister will finally put Dennis to rest, he told the BBC.
He said: 'It's wonderful; I'm going to meet my brother. You might say we shouldn't be thrilled, but we are. He's been found - he's come home now.'
Professor Dame Jane Francis, director of BAS, said Dennis was one of the many brave FIDS personnel who contributed to the early exploration of Antarctica.
'Even though he was lost in 1959, his memory lived on among colleagues and in the legacy of polar research,' she said.
'This discovery brings closure to a decades-long mystery and reminds us of the human stories embedded in the history of Antarctic science.'
What are glaciers and why are they important?
Glaciers are considered one of our planet's most precious natural features.
These slow moving rivers of ice, thousands of years old, reflect the sun's rays back into space - making them a natural tool in the fight against global warming.
Without glaciers, the world would heat up quicker and polar ice would melt, increasing the rate of sea level rise.
Glacier loss also depletes freshwater resources that millions of people depend on for drinkable water.
However, glaciers can be dangerous to access, as their often jagged features are unstable and can fall.
Sometimes crevasses - deep open cracks in the glaciers - are not visible because they are covered by surface snow.