Family of missing British hiker release his last videos as they urge mystery woman seen in clip to come forward
4 August 2023, 08:49
The last videos taken by a British hiker missing in the Swiss Alps have been released by his family as they search for answers about what happened to him.
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Aidan Roche, 29, a chemical engineer from Middlesborough, was last heard from on June 22 on the Eiger Trail in the Grindelwald area of the Bernese Alps on the twelfth day of a two-week trip.
He sent messages to his family and friends on that day and has not been seen or heard from since.
His older brothers Connor, 32, and Neal, 31, have now retraced his steps after raising more than £30,000 to help the search.
Swiss authorities charged the Roche family for the use of a rescue helicopter that turned up nothing.
Aidan’s campervan was found near to where he went missing, unlocked.
His family have since released footage from the last videos Aidan is believed to have taken before he disappeared.
They show him walking in the scenic Swiss valley - the footage shows hikers the family hope to trace, and a mystery woman in a baseball cap admiring the view - who they would also hope to speak to.
His brother Connor said the family were “all missing Aidan so much” and that the hardest thing was dealing with “the unknown”.
He said: “I try and keep up hope that maybe he’s decided to wander off, or he’s hit his head and forgotten who he is, but I have to drag myself back to what we actually know and the evidence suggests that he’s still on the mountain and we haven’t found him yet.
"There’s the outside chance that he has some crazy survival story.”
Aidan's close friend Beth Taylor, 26, has been sharing videos on TikTok in the hope that someone would recognise him or the other hikers. She said: “This is awful – we all just need to know what has happened to him.
“He’d never just disappear like this."
Aidan's family said on their GoFundMe page: "The police and mountain rescue have exhausted every option they can for the past week and have now stopped searching, we need anything crucial information to help drive the investigation further forward to help bring our friend home.
"Once we have raised enough money to fund the campaign, we can start putting missing posters on screens and anywhere around the region to get his face seen as much as possible.
"We have also now been charged by the search team for the use of the helicopter so the funds raised here will also go towards those fees."
His brothers are also believed to have retraced the trail he was last seen on several times in a bid to find clues to his whereabouts.
In the latest update on the page, on July 20, they said: "Thank you all for your ongoing support, the work that everyone is doing is fantastic and highly appreciated!
"I also have an update that the family and extended family will be going out to Switzerland again on the 21st to continue the search focusing first on the location the pictures were taken and where the messages were last sent from."
