Remains Of Lost Antarctic Researcher Recovered After 66 Years

Dennis "Tink" Bell was just 25 years old when he vanished while exploring the Ecology Glacier in July 1959.

The remains of a lost Antarctic researcher have finally been recovered, 66 years after he fell into an icy crevasse while conducting a survey.

A Polish research team discovered bone fragments and more than 200 personal items on Ecology Glacier in January 2025. DNA analysis has confirmed that they found the remains of Dennis “Tink” Bell, a British researcher who once worked at Admiralty Bay Base on King George Island.

Before his 1959 death, Bell worked as a meteorologist for the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS), the organization that later became the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). Bell will now finally be laid to rest in the U.K.

How Dennis Bell Tragically Disappeared