The British Antarctic Survey announced that the remains of the 25-year-old meteorologist Dennis “Bell” Bell were found 66 years after his disappearance. Although Bell’s remains were recovered in January, they were only formally identified.
“I had given up for a long time to find my brother. It’s just remarkable, amazing. I can’t get over it,” David Bell, Dennis’s brother, told BBC News. The outlet reported that David was the one who answered the door when the family received a Telegraaf who informed them about the bad news, which he described as a ‘terrible moment’.
David also told the British Antarctic Survey (Bas) that he and his sister, Valerie Kelly, were “shocked and surprised” to hear that the remains of their brother were found for decades after his fatal accident.
Dennis Bell (left) with his colleague colleagues and the dogs that helped them to work on Antarctica. Midwinter 1959 on Base of Admiralty Bay. (British Antarctic Survey)
Missing man from Florida who ran away at the popular tourist destination in New England, found dead
Samples of the DNA of David and Valerie helped professor Denise Syndercombe Court, a forensic geneticist at King’s College London, to confirm that the remains those of their brother were. The two were “more than a million times” more likely than not related, according to Bas.
After school, Bell joined the Royal Air Force for National Service and trained as a radio operator before he joined the Falkland Island Survey (FIDS) in 1958 as a meteorologist.
On July 26, 1959, Bell, along with three other men and two dog sledges, went on his way to climb a glacier that led to an ice plateau, where they were planning to carry out survey and geological work. The men divorced themselves in couples where Bell was accompanied by surveyor Jeff Stokes, while meteorologist Ken Gibson was with geologist Colin Barton, according to the bass. The bass noted that Bell and Stokes went for about 30 minutes before Gibson and Barton.
The location where the remains of Dennis “Tink” Bell were found were found after 66 years. (Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station via British Antarctic Survey)
Experienced climber dies after 3000 feet fall from the highest peak in North America
While the dogs got tired in the deep, soft snow, Bell tried to motivate them by running ahead to encourage them. According to De Bas, however, he did this without his skis. Then he got into a crack, an accident that led to his death and a decades of search for his remains.
Stokes apparently called to Bell, who answered. He then lowered a rope and told Bell that he had to bind it to himself. Tragic enough Bell Bell tied the rope on his belt and not his body, according to the bass, with reference to the book by Anthony Nelson, “by Ice and Men”. While the team tried to bring him to safety, his belt and Bell broke back in the crack. This time Bell did not answer.
The weather deteriorated soon after Bell’s fall, and while his colleagues risked their lives to save him, they couldn’t do this. Gibson said that after about 12 hours they found the site and realized: “There was no way to survive,” said De Bas.
Dennis “Tink” Bell (far right) during Christmas on the base. (D. Bell via British Antarctic Survey)
Click here to get the Fox News app
“Dennis was one of the many brave FIDS staff who contributed to the early science and exploration of Antarctica under extremely harsh conditions. Although he was lost in 1959, his memory lived with colleagues and in the Legacy of Polair Research. This discovery brings closure of a decades of the history of the history of the history of the history of the history of the History of the History of the History of the History of the History of the History of the History of the History of the History of the History of the History of the History of the History of the History of the History of the History of the History of History.
Bell’s remains were transported to the Falkland Islands on board the Bas Royal Research Ship Sir David Attenborough. They were then transferred to the coroner of his Majesty for the British Antarctic area, Malcolm Simmons, who accompanied them from Stanley on the Falkland Islands to London.
