American climber buried by Peru avalanche found 22 years later
American climber William Stampfl was buried by an avalanche in Peru 22 years ago as he was climbing one of the highest peaks in the Andes mountains.
His body wasn’t found until June 2024.
Stampfl’s daughter got a call from a man saying he came across the climber’s frozen body. The Stampfl family then got ahold of local mountain guides to recover the body.
“It’s been a shock,” said Jennifer Stampfl, 53. “When you get that phone call that he’s been found your heart just sinks. You don’t know how exactly to feel at first.”
Stampfl’s body and clothing were preserved by the ice and freezing temperatures. His driver’s license was still inside his hip pouch, as well as a pair of sunglasses, a camera, a voice recorder and two $20 bills.
Stampfl’s gold wedding ring was still on his left hand.
His daughter said he was a very humble man and did not like to draw attention to himself.
“The fact that he is in the news, it is so not my dad,” Jennifer Stampfl said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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