Receding Antarctic glacier reveals body of researcher who died in 1959
A Polish team found the body of Dennis "Tink" Bell among rocks that were exposed by the receding glacier, according to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
Bell, a 25-year-old meteorologist who was working for BAS' predecessor — the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey — was identified by DNA, the organization said.
Bell died on July 26, 1959 in a crevasse on the glacier at Admiralty Bay on King George Island, off the Antarctic Peninsula, BAS reported in a news release.
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Researcher's body found with inscribed wristwatch, ski poles
According to the release, teams found more than 200 items belonging to the researcher, including radio equipment, a flashlight, ski poles, an inscribed Erguel wristwatch, a Swedish Mora knife and an ebonite pipe stem.
'When my sister Valerie and I were notified that our brother Dennis had been found after 66 years we were shocked and amazed.... Bringing him home have helped us come to terms with the tragic loss of our brilliant brother," David Bell, the researcher's sibling told BAS.
The remains were transported to the Falkland Islands on the BAS Royal Research Ship, the release described, where they were lated identified using DNA testing.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
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