Man Dies in Mountain Fall

Who: A 30-year-old German hiker
Where: Tschagguns, Vorarlberg, Austria
His mistake: Taking a shortcut on steep terrain
What happened: The hiker and his 32-year-old lady partner were hiking on the Montafon at 3:30 pm when they realized it was getting dark. After a stop at a hut at Maiensäss they decided to take a shortcut in the dark down the Mühlewald. First the lady took a fall down the steep wooded terrain and landed on a tree trunk which stopped her fall. Her partner also took a fall ending up next to her against a tree. When the man showed no signs of life the lady called for help on her cell phone and the volunteers from the Bergrettung Schruns/Tschagguns arrived at the scene at 6:30 p.m. Fire fighters from Tschagguns were also on the scene and determined that the man was dead. Since there were no outward signs of any injury or trauma the man’s body was turned over to the medical examiner to determine the actual cause of death.