Hiker finds frozen body of missing man who disappeared in mountains 22 years ago

LIMA, Peru (KVVU/Gray News) - A Nevada man was hiking one of the tallest mountains in the world last month when his adventure took an unexpected turn.

Ryan Cooper said his hiking team noticed a dark shape in thick fields of snow and freezing ice sheets while at the Huascaran peak in the Andes mountains.

“As we got closer that object began to take shape, we could see it was a climber,” Cooper said. “As we got closer and closer, we could tell he had been there for quite some time.”

That hiker was later identified as William Stampfl. He had been in that spot frozen in time for 22 years.

“I noticed right off the bat this climber had a wedding ring on, you could see his ring,” Cooper said. “It hit me … this guy had a family, at least a wife and they were expecting him home and he never came home.”

The hiker’s body was fully intact. He still had his boots on and a fanny pack with a driver’s license.

Cooper immediately got to work trying to find his family.

After a few days, he tracked down Strampfl’s children and called them with the news.

“They already accepted the fact he was going to be part of the mountain. So, to get that phone call 22 years later is quite a shock,” Cooper said.

Jennifer Stampfl, William Stampfl’s daughter, said she was glad her father was found by Cooper.

“I’m just so glad that it was Ryan,” she said. “I truly believe there is a higher power and I believe he believes that as well, that put him in that spot and that time to find my dad.”

That spot was Huascaran, the highest peak in the Peruvian Andes. It’s a gigantic mountain that only the bravest even dare climb. Huascaran beckoned William Stampfl two decades ago and Cooper just last month.

Jennifer Stampfl said the call the family got back in 2002 was devastating.

William Stampfl and his hiking party disappeared after they were buried by an avalanche. After a week-long search came up empty, the hikers were presumed dead.

Fast forward over 20 years, and William Stampfl was finally located.

“We saw he was from Chino, California, he was American,” Cooper said. “So, me and my brother realized we were the ones responsible for finding his family.”

After contacting the Stampfl family, Cooper said he suddenly found himself a new mission – to get William Stampfl home.

Peruvian rescue teams helped carry William Stampfl’s body down the mountain.

The Stampfl family said they plan on cremating his remains along with taking him on a special last hike to spread his ashes at one of his favorite spots on Mount Baldy in Southern California.

Cooper said he is grateful to give the Stampfl family peace of mind and closure 22 years later.

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