A body has been found that could be that of one of the Catalans who disappeared six months ago in the French Pyrenees.
The National Gendarmerie believes that, judging by his clothing, the man could be Esteve Carbonell.
More than half a year ago, specifically on December 7, 2024, A couple of Catalan hikers disappeared during an expedition to the French Pyrenees.Eren Txell Fusté, a 52-year-old woman from Manresa, and Esteve Carbonell, a 47-year-old man from Gironella. A large search operation was deployed involving five Andorran firefighters and a dozen French gendarmes, but they were unable to locate the couple. French gendarmerie in the ACN. According to the French emergency services, given the area where the body was found and the clothing he was wearing, they believe it could be the hiker Esteve Carbonell. The gendarmerie rescued him by helicopter. They are now awaiting an autopsy.
As explained by the ARA, a few days after the disappearance the family of the hikers was able to reconstruct the route they had taken, recovering the signal from their mobile phoness. According to the reconstruction, the signal from both hikers was lost near the scree of the Col des Calmettes, at an altitude of approximately 2,000 meters. Therefore, they had not yet reached the summit. However, it was not entirely clear that this was the point where they disappeared, but rather the place where their mobile signal was lost and, therefore, where their trail was lost.
Other hikers who have completed this route, which runs around several ponds, describe it as difficult because, "although not technically complicated, it is a demanding route with scree and large boulders in some sections." They also describe some climbing sections at the top of Rulhe Peak that "require attention" and some steep climbs. All of this makes it advisable to "be accustomed to high mountain terrain."
The most difficult section of this route is precisely next to the area where the Catalan hikers' signal was lost. It is a section of the route made up of a scree of stone boulders that gradually becomes steeper as it ascends toward the Rulhe crest, a section they describe as "demanding and tough."