The search for Yam Levi, 23, an Israeli tourist who went missing in Germany some 10 days ago, came to a devastating end on Thursday after several nerve-wracking days. Levi, 23, from the town of Lapid, near Modi’in, apparently suffered a fatal accident while hiking in the southern part of the Bavaria region. Her parents were called to the local police station on Thursday to identify their daughter’s body.
Levi’s body was found by a German police search team at a ski site near the village Oberstdorf, located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the town of Immenstadt, where she was staying. The search team had focused its recovery efforts on this area during the last few days, following an eyewitness account by a young man who said he had seen Levi travelling in the area and walking toward a mountain close to the ski site. The man said he spoke with Levy only briefly.
Erez Levi, Yam’s father, told Channel 2 Thursday that his daughter had apparently fallen down a steep slope that ended in a cliff. “Yam went up a mountain on a cable car and decided, so it seems, to come down the mountain by foot. On the way, she stopped to eat at a cafeteria located half way down the path. Apparently, she got confused afterwards and continued on an unmarked path. Authorities believe that she slipped and fell to her death. The search was difficult due to weather conditions. A search helicopter saw her in a ravine.”
Attorney Moshe Frankel, A Levi family friend, issued the following statement on the family’s behalf: “The family thanks the Israeli people and the media for their assistance and support. We are waiting for the parents’ return to Israel.”
German police announced that they were investigating the circumstances of Levi’s death, adding that they were working under the assumption that she had stumbled on the path and fell to her death.
The Foreign Ministry, which assisted the family, released a statement saying Israeli and German authorities were working together to facilitate the body’s return to Israel.
“The family received a notification. We are arranging for the return [of the body] to Israel to be laid to rest. Currently, no date for the body’s return has been set,” the statement said.
All contact was lost with Levi on the eve of Rosh Hashana, after she had spoken with a close friend over the Internet. Two days later, the guest house where she was staying reported that she had not come to pick up her equipment or to check out. Last Friday, her parents flew to Germany and her sisters Gal and Almog took to social media platforms to spread the word of her disappearance and her picture throughout Germany, and to ask for the public’s assistance in locating her.
Over the last few days, German police expanded their search of Levi, sending out a search team that specializes in searching steep, wooded terrain.