A body pulled from high up in the Columbia Icefield following its discovery on August 15 may have been frozen in the ice for over 20 years.

The body, which is now in the hands of medical examiners, was discovered by two hikers and has sparked a review of case files at Parks Canada and the Jasper RCMP. 

“We have opened up a few of our missing, presumed dead files,” said Steve Blake, visitor safety specialist who assisted in the recovery. 

The identity of the body, which Blake speculated was a male, could be that of three or four people who have gone missing on the Columbia Icefield in the past 20 years. 

Blake said the person could have become trapped in the ice after falling in a crevasse, or covered as the glacier moved downwards. The body was found on top of flat, exposed ice on the Dome Glacier to the north of the Athabasca Glacier, near the popular Snowdome climbing area. 

“This area of the Columbia Icefield is exceptionally hazardous,” Blake said. 

When a solo climber goes missing it is often difficult for rescuers to locate them unless tracks are left in the snow, or they find gear around the area they went missing. If they do not return it is often assumed they fell into a crevasse, and rescues are initiated as best as possible. 

The recovery of the body was done by four Parks Canada rescue personnel, and one member of the Jasper RCMP, Sgt. David Maludzinski. The body was discovered on August 15, and the recovery was executed on August 16 using a helicopter from Golden, B.C.

Blake said the glacier may have changed, revealing the body. 

“He may have just sort of melted out, is what it amounts to,” he said. 

The medical examiners will now compare dental records with those still-open files from Parks Canada and the RCMP. The families of the four missing people have not yet been notified pending confirmation of the body’s identity. 

“We’re not just going to phone on

speculation,” Blake said. “It’s too disrupting.”

Once the body is identified Parks Canada should be able to figure out what took place. 

“We should be able to piece together a bit more about the history of the event,” Blake said. 

A few people have gone missing in the Columbia Icefield and on the Robson Valley’s many glaciers over the past 20 years, but Blake said it is extremely rare for a body to be discovered. 

“This is pretty rare for us to find an intact person after 20 years,” he said. When a hiker goes missing, gear is sometimes located and matched back to the file as the only evidence a person was lost. 

“Whenever we find anything we try to do a file search,” Blake said. 

The case has now been handed over to the Jasper RCMP and medical examiners, but Parks Canada will be kept in the loop in order to close one of their files that may have been open for decades. 

“We keep track of all safety occurrences,” Blake said.