Body of Hiker Missing Since New Year's Day Found in Mountain Range 5 Months After Search Began: Report
Aziz Ziriat's body was found nearly five months after he and his friend Samuel Harris went missing while hiking in the Dolomites in Italy, according to BBC News
The pair, from London, were reported missing in early January after missing a flight home on Jan. 6 from their trip to the mountain range
Harris' body was on Jan. 8, however, the search for Ziriat continued all this timeThe body of a British hiker missing in the mountains since Jan. 1 has been recovered after five months of searching.
On Saturday, May 31, emergency responders found Aziz Ziriat's body in the Dolomites Mountains in northern Italy, according to BBC News. In doing so, they brought an end to search efforts that started after he and his friend Samuel Harris went missing in early January.
The pair, who were last heard from on Jan. 1, were was reported missing after they did not make their Jan. 6 flight home, the outlet reported.
Harris' body was recovered on Jan. 8, shortly after search and rescue efforts commenced, according to previous reporting by BBC News. At the time, they also found the cover to Ziriat's phone. However, weather and other conditions made the search challenging.
The outlet noted that Ziriat, 36, was found "lying in a rocky crevice" and was only "around 1,300 ft." away from where Harris, 35, was found.
In a statement to the outlet, a spokesman for Trentino Alpine and Speleological Rescue said the rescuers "lowered themselves down the wall below the base of the slope, where the dog finally signalled the missing man's body in a rocky crevice, where it had been covered by snow".
A cause of death has not yet been revealed. However, the BBC previously reported that a possible cause was a fall "from above."
It is also not clear what happened in the pair's final hours together. They were last confirmed to have visited a mountain hut near Tione Di Trento.
Alpine Rescue, Guardia di Finanza Rescue and Italy's Carabinieri (a military organization similar to the police) all assisted in the recovery efforts.
Ziriat and Harris were described as "experienced hikers" by a college friend, per BBC News.
The former's family issued a statement in January, saying that they were "devastated by the tragic events of the last few days," according to multiple outlets, including Sky News.
"Our appreciation for the co-ordinated work and expertise of the Alpine Rescue, emergency services and volunteers in Italy is immeasurable," they said. "The work they have been doing, battling against challenging terrain and weather conditions, and their commitment to finding Aziz has been outstanding."
The statement concluded: "We hope, with all our hearts, he will be found and brought home soon."
Ziriat's girlfriend Rebecca Dimmock spoke out at the time, saying that it was "not unexpected" that he and Harris would go "off-grid" while hiking.
"I think they wanted to have some nights where they were out in nature and in fresh air and sleeping in the wild. They have all the gear and they've done hikes before," she said, according to U.K. newspaperThe Times.
She received a text from him on New Year's Day. That same day, the outlet reported that they alerted loved ones that their phones might die.
PEOPLE has reached out to Alpine Rescue and Guardia di Finanza Rescue for additional comment.
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