Latest news with #OgwenValley
BBC News
14 hours ago
- BBC News
Eryri police find bodies of men missing years apart in same spot
It was a mystery that left detectives baffled after a 33-year-old doctor vanished without a trace while walking in Eryri National in August 2012 Shayne Colaco, 33, from Stoke-on-Trent, had been hiking in the Carneddau range in north Wales when he did not return to his car. He was not seen the time, the experienced hiker's disappearance sparked an extensive operation by air and on foot, with the search described by experts as a "needle in a haystack" in the Ogwen was not until 12 years later that a vital clue led to the discovery of Mr Colaco's body in May 2024, only metres away from fellow hiker David Brookfield who had disappeared months before the discovery and died while walking in the same area. Mr Brookfield, 65, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, had been walking alone on 9 January 2024 when he went Wales Police said Mr Brookfield had sent a text to his wife from the top of Carnedd Llewelyn, but no further contact was ever received. The experienced walker had intended to complete an "amazing" 15km (nine mile) route in good weather, police said, but with forecasts that it would deteriorate throughout the is believed he entered the broad mouth of a gully during his descent from his final summit at Pen yr Ole Wen when he fell and became seriously "extensive searches in challenging winter weather conditions", Mr Brookfield could not be found."The weather worsened, snow continued to fall... after the first couple of weeks we realised there wasn't any more we could do from the ground," said Sgt Paul Terry, of North Wales Police. Four months after his disappearance, coastguard helicopter crews discovered Mr Brookfield's body after seeing a glimpse of blue while carrying out a routine training exercise through the Ogwen was during his recovery that volunteers also located a single item of clothing that led them to find the remains of Mr Colaco. Sgt Terry, who assisted the rescue of the two bodies, said the circumstances were "exceptional" as many of the volunteers working on the rescue were involved in the initial search for Mr Colaco 12 years of the winchmen who located Mr Brookfield from the helicopter was also part of RAF squadron looking for Mr Colaco."It shows the amazing willingness and determination of volunteers and the emergency services to find both these men."Sgt Terry said it was while investigating Mr Brookfield's death that a mountain rescue team member found a jacket about 5m (16ft) further down the gully. "The jacket didn't seem to fit with the picture of what we were investigating. It was an older jacket, one that seemed to have been there for some time and inside the pocket was a car key," he said. "Deep in the memory of this rescue team was Shayne Colaco, who had gone missing in the same area 12 years earlier."Sgt Terry said he was "amazed" to find the jacket was very similar to the one Mr Colaco was wearing on the day he went missing. Further investigations then confirmed the key in the pocket was the key to his car, a Fiat Seicento."Suddenly, we realised we may have a clue as to where he may have been all this time." A mountain rescue drone operator then helped find Mr Colaco's body. It is now believed his descent from the summit of Pen yr Ole Wen took the same fatal turn as Mr Brookfield's. Sharing the tragic story, Sgt Terry voiced his condolences to the men's families and friends, as well as warning of the dangers of walking in Eryri, also known as Snowdonia. He said both men ended up in very dangerous ground, "which might have seemed inviting from the summit, but as it got steeper and more broken, it became harder"."It's important to understand the scale of these hills and the impact of weather – and how quickly it can change," he said. "We want you to come and enjoy these beautiful mountains in Eryri, it is amazing, but come and be safe and enjoy it."And so, I have a very simple safety message - be prepared."
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Man with a broken wrist spent an hour trying to save hospital doctor friend, 30, after she slipped 30ft to her death from grassy ledge in Snowdonia, inquest hears
A man with a broken wrist spent an hour trying to save his hospital doctor friend after she fell 30ft to her death, an inquest heard today. Dr Charlotte Crook, 31, and her colleague Adam Weatherhogg had been walking in Snowdonia on February 16 when Ms Crook slipped and plunged off a grassy ledge. Senior coroner John Gittins praised the 'amazing efforts' that Mr Weatherhogg made as he carried out chest compressions in a bid to help Dr Crook, of Perry Barr, Birmingham. Her parents described the hills and mountains as their only child's 'happy place.' She had a 'passion for exploration of the great outdoors.' Dr Crook was an experienced walker but died from a head injury last February on Glyder Fach. The Ruthin hearing was told that she had been descending when she slipped. Mr Weatherhogg dialled 999 and tried to reach Dr Crook but also slipped and injured his arm, causing significant pain. Ogwen Valley mountain rescue team said they were descending a scrambling route and rock was greasy. Mr Gittins said: 'I have absolutely no doubt that death would have been instantaneous and Charlie wouldn't have suffered.' The tragedy was a 'conspiracy of all matters at that time, weather, route and loss of footing.' The coroner recorded a conclusion of accidental death. He remarked that Dr Crook was 'incredibly talented.' After the inquest, Clare Crook, her mother, said : 'We are so proud of her. She wanted to be the best she could be, to make a difference and not be forgotten.' Dr Crook was a St John Ambulance volunteer, a member of the Order of St John and also West Midlands Central Accident Resuscitation Emergency (CARE) team, a charitable organisation which responds to serious medical incidents. A tribute from a friend at CARE declared : 'Charlie was an inspiration to all of us at CARE.' She will be remembered at St Paul's Cathedral at a commemoration service for the Order. A University of Birmingham simulation suite to practise medical skills is also due to be dedicated to her memory.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Science
- BBC News
Rare Snowdonia hawkweed plant flowers at secret Eryri refuge
One of the world's rarest plants - with just four known examples left in the wild - has flowered at a nursery set up to try to prevent the decline of Wales' Arctic alpine species. Snowdonia hawkweed - nicknamed "the Welsh dodo" - was thought to be extinct until a plant was found in 2002 in Eryri National Robbie Blackhall-Miles scaled a cliff face somewhere in the Ogwen Valley above Bethesda in 2023 to document the remaining plants and take a cutting to replant. He now has about 50 Snowdonia hawkweeds blooming at a secret location as part of a Heritage Lottery funded project called jewels of the mountain, or Tlysau Mynydd Eryri in Welsh. Mr Blackhall-Miles said his work for Plantlife Cymru, under an initiative called Natur Am Byth [nature forever], involves the 10 most threatened species living in the Arctic-like environment of Welsh mountain peaks. The list of rare things under his watch includes the exquisite Snowdon rainbow beetle, found only above 400m (1,300 feet) on Yr Wyddfa, or Snowdon, an Arctic clam the size of a sesame seed, as well as ferns, saxifrages, avens and the Snowdonia hawkweed (hierachium snowdoniense).When an example was found in 2002, it had not been seen in the wild for 50 years. "This is a species that's been here longer than any other in Wales," he said, explaining how it was a living relic of the last ice age, surviving on peaks that stayed above the glaciers."As those glaciers retreated, these plants crept down the mountains, and they were the first things that were in the new Welsh landscape," he said. The hawkweed and its fellow Arctic alpine specialists got along fine alongside man until the advent first of industrial scale grazing, followed by the plants being dug up and sold in a 19th Century craze for exotic species to fill Victorian herbariums and ferneries. "I've got the opportunity to correct the wrongs of the past," he said, adding the Treborth Botanic Gardens and the National Botanic Gardens are now helping with his nursery. There are plans to plant cultivated hawkweeds in Cwm Idwal, a National Trust site where grazing animals can be controlled. The species is related to dandelions and is from a group of plants that are evolving quickly, which Mr Blackhall-Miles said makes them important to understanding how species will cope with climate change. "Making sure that the plants have that opportunity to continue that process of evolution is really important," he said. "For a species like Snowdonia hawkweed to become extinct creates a dead end especially if that extinction is brought on by inappropriate grazing or over collection, something that's not part of the natural cycle." Reaching the species involved what Mr Blackhall-Miles said his mountain leader described as "the sketchiest piece of climbing ever done". "In Britain, where we think everything is accessible and open, there are places which are really difficult to get to and this is one of those places," he said. "Actually, there are cliffs here in Eryri where we don't know what's growing."He said he hopes to get back to the last Snowdonia hawkweed plants this summer, even if it is just to see them through binoculars. What has not been seen, going back now to 2023, is the Snowdon rainbow beetle. "We've started work on a project to use sniffer dogs to find the beetles for us," he is tricky for the beetles. Too little and there is not enough of the food they like, too much at the wrong time and the eggs they lay on blades of grass get eaten. So the plan is to get that balance right in perfect habitat for the beetle along the banks of Snowden Mountain Railway."It is right on the edge of the busiest path up Snowdon so everybody will be able to scan the QR codes on the fence posts and be able to learn about what's happening," he said. There has also been good news on the Arctic pea clam, which has been confirmed in two more Welsh lakes, bringing the total to four, while DNA evidence shows it is the same species as clams in Siberia. "It is amazing because you can imagine a mollusc doesn't really move around the landscape very easily," he said. "So how did how did a tiny little clam find its way here in Wales, as the glaciers were melting?"We can only presume it came on bird's feet."Mr Blackhall-Miles, 48, has already helped to bring back the rosy saxifrage, which was declared extinct in the wild in Wales in 1962. Cultivated plants were reintroduced last year. "I'm really pleased to say that it flowered really well in the wild this year," he said. "It's been visited by goats and sheep which haven't bothered it, which is also really good. "I've worked internationally in plant conservation, but to bring an extinct species back in my home country is one of the best things I've done," he said."For me this forms part of my heritage as a Welsh person, it's not just about bringing a species back."
Telegraph
11-06-2025
- Telegraph
Influencer died after fall on 3,000ft Snowdonia peak
An influencer died after falling down a Snowdonia mountain, an inquest heard. Maria Rosanova Eftimova, 28, was hiking up 3,000-foot Tryfan when she slipped and fell 60ft to her death on Feb 22. Neil Oakes, who was among a group of about 18 on the peak when the party split in two, said he had been ahead of Miss Eftimova and turned around to check on his companions. He said in a statement: 'I turned around again and saw Maria tumbling through the air below me. I knew there was going to be an impact. I was shouting 'no, no, no'. When I turned back she had hit the ledge below.' Jed Stone, of Ogwen Valley mountain rescue team, said the accident happened on the north ridge of Tryfan, an area of steep rocky ground and many cliff faces. Miss Eftimova, a civil engineer who had lived in England since 2015 and studied at the University of Salford, died on the mountain. She had more than 10,000 followers on social media and was an experienced climber who had recently completed an ice-climbing course in Norway. Kate Robertson, senior coroner for north west Wales, said: 'Very sadly, it seems Maria was scrambling with others when she'd unintentionally and unexpectedly fallen. During the course of that fall, she sustained the injuries, which have sadly led to her death. That fall was entirely accidental.' Severe head injuries A conclusion of an accident was recorded. A pathologist had found multiple injuries including severe head injuries. Miss Eftimova's Bulgarian family were on a video link to the inquest. The coroner passed on her condolences to them and said: 'The way Mr Eftimov described Maria shows she was a very bright and conscientious individual.' In a statement, Rosen Eftimov, her father, said: 'We learnt about Maria's death from a telephone call from her friends with her at the time of the accident. 'Maria had climbed Tryfan several times on different routes.' Mr Eftimov said his daughter had been snowboarding, surfed, entered marathons and did yoga, pole dancing, and glacier climbing in Norway. Harry Jones, another witness to the tragedy, said about seven of the group on the peak had been going from ledge to ledge. Miss Eftimova was ahead of him and slipped as she pulled herself up. 'All I saw was her flying over the top of my head and down the mountainside,' he said. Mr Jones said he 'froze' but dialled 999. A rescue helicopter and mountain rescuers arrived at the scene. A fund-raising appeal was launched to support the family of Miss Eftimova. The appeal's organisers said: 'Maria was an ambitious, bright and cherished 28-year-old, whose vibrant personality, energy and aura touched and uplifted all around her. 'She had an insatiable thirst for life and exploring our world's beauty.'
The Sun
22-05-2025
- The Sun
Tragedy as walker ‘falls to death' from ridge at peak of UK mountain in front of horrified members of public
A WALKER has tragically died after reportedly falling from a ridge off the peak of UK mountain in front of horrified members of public Mountain rescue teams were called to reports the tragic fall in Snowdonia on the the 18 May. A spokesperson for Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team said: "The team was called out on Sunday morning after a walker was seen to fall from the ridge. Two off duty team members working in Cwm Cneifion also witnessed the fall and acted as spotters to guide in the HM Coastguard rescue helicopter. "An off duty RAF mountain rescue service member and her climbing partner made their way over to assist the winchman, and a team member was also winched down with a stretcher. "Sadly, the casualty did not survive their injuries, and they were recovered from the mountain. The thoughts of all involved are with the casualty's family and friends."
