Police Unintentionally Solve 64-Year-Old Cold Case

Authorities identified the body of a French skier who disappeared in 1954 in the northern Italian Alps, local police announced on Twitter Sunday.

Italian authorities identified that human remains and wooden skis — discovered in 2005 — belonged to French skier Henri Le Masne, according to a tweet by police.

Tutto era iniziato nel 2005, con il ritrovamento dei resti di uno sciatore sul Cervino.
Pochi oggetti intorno al corpo facevano supporre che la persona, un uomo, avesse perso la vita durante una discesa con gli sci https://t.co/adehCmuSre

— Polizia di Stato (@poliziadistato) July 29, 2018

Le Masne’s remains were discovered at 10,000 feet in elevation at the Valtourneche valley of the Aosta region near the Swiss border, according to The Guardian.

“It all started in 2005,” the Polizia di Stato wrote on their official Twitter account.

Le Masne was 5 feet 9 inches tall and about 30 years old at the time of the accident, according to authorities.

Police also found a pair of glasses, a watch and parts of an embroidered shirt with Le Masne’s initials, The Guardian reported.

The Aosta valley prosecutor originally asked if anyone could help identify the remains of the skier in a tweet on June 28.

Emma Nassem, the niece of Le Masne, heard the announcement on a French radio station and believed it was her uncle, according to an article on the police’s website.

Le Masne’s brother Roger also alerted authorities.

“I am the brother of Henri Le Masne … who is likely the skier who disappeared 64 years ago. He was a bachelor and quite independent. He worked in the finance ministry in Paris,” he said to police in an email, according to The Guardian.

Le Masne was born in 1919 in the Normandy commune of Alencon.

Si chiamava Henri Joseph Leonce Le Masne, nato ad #Alencon nel 1919. È lui lo #sciatore i cui resti sono stati ritrovati nel 2005 sul #Cervino, in Valle D’Aosta. Ho raccontato la sua #storia su Skytg24 https://t.co/dde4dP5yjQ pic.twitter.com/Fl42HGb3pF

— Virginia Camerieri (@VirgyCame) July 30, 2018

The identification was proven with a saliva test, the police’s website added.

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