Body of Brit who vanished on New Year’s Day during hiking trip with pal found in Italy

Aziz Ziriat, 36, went missing alongside his friend Samuel Harris, 35, in the Italian Dolomites at the start of the year. A huge search was launched after the pair were had not been heard from since New Year’s Day

The body of a Brit who disappeared on New Year’s Day during a hiking trip with his mate has been discovered.

Aziz Ziriat, 36, went missing along with his friend Samuel Harris, 35, in the Italian Dolomites at the start of the year.

A massive search was initiated after the pair hadn’t been heard from since New Year’s Day.

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His body was found this morning and the Trentino Alpine and Speleological Rescue team are now working to recover his remains.

The mates were known to have been near the town Tione Di Trento, close to Riva Del Garda, on Lake Garda, before they vanished. The alarm was raised after the men stopped responding to messages and failed to catch their flight back to the UK on January 6.

Samuel was sadly found dead back in January, after his body had been buried under metres of deep snow. The search for the pair was complicated by poor weather conditions and heavy snow at high altitudes, reports the Mirror.

Search teams found items belonging to Aziz, like his mobile phone and a card, not far from his friend’s body, in January. Despite this, the dozens of rescuers involved in the search were unable to locate the 36 year old at the time.

Rescuers hoped the snow melting in the spring and summer would help restart the search for Aziz, who was from London. The operation to recover his body is being coordinated by the Italian Guardia di Finanza and is ongoing.

The mates had jetted off to The Dolomites for a New Year’s adventure, aiming to trek from hut to hut across the peaks. When the search began, Aziz’s girlfriend described them as “experienced hikers”, albeit she hadn’t spoken to him since roughly 10am on New Year’s Day.

Rebecca Dimmock later divulged the final messages sent by her boyfriend before the pair vanished. Back in January, she recounted: “He sent some photos of the mountains and a couple of himself. He said his phone was about to die but he would write back to me properly soon.”

Furnishing additional insights into their hiking excursion, Rebecca elaborated: “I know they made it to the hut, and they were drinking red wine, but he said it was freezing.”

Footage from the time captured Aziz gearing up to navigate the mountain range with Samuel on New Year’s Day. He recorded the terrain they planned to conquer and a bivouac believed to have been their last known shelter.

Aziz notably held a position at Crystal Palace, being part of the club’s official charity, Palace For Life. The top-flight football team put out a plea for information when he was initially reported missing.