Missing American citizen's body found in Himachal's Lahaul and Spiti

Three days after an American citizen went missing, his body was recovered in a ravine between Kee and Tashigang in Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul and Spiti district on Sunday, police said.

Trevor Bokstaahlar (31) went missing on Thursday during his visit to the Spiti Valley, following which a search team was constituted, they said.

According to the police, the team conducted searches at various areas of Kaza and recovered a motorcycle rented by the deceased near a deserted area close to Tashigang, but no further clues were found.

A day later, with the assistance of the Dogra Regiment of the Army, a drone on Friday identified a parachute stuck in a deep ravine between Kee and Tashigang, they said.

The police suspected the parachute belonged to Trevor, who was a base jumper, Superintendent of Police (SP) Lahaul and Spiti, Mayank Chaudhary said.

Consequently, teams from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), trained in such rescue operations and adverse conditions, were deployed and Trevor's body was brought down, SP Chaudhary said.

Prima facie, it appears to be an accident, the police said.

The information has been shared with the American Embassy and we are in constant contact with them, the SP said, adding that the body would be handed over to them after the formalities are completed.