New Year's Hike Takes Dangerous Turn When Two Hikers Go Missing in Italy

A search mission is underway in the Dolomites after two experienced hikers were reported missing at the beginning of January.

Dolomites, Italy / Unsplash

Aziz Ziriat, 36, and Samuel Harris, 35, set out for a New Year's hike in northern Italy's Dolomite Mountains. Alarm was raised when they failed to arrive for their flight home on Jan. 6.

The pair were described as being "experienced hikers" by Ziriat's girlfriend, Rebecca Dimmock. According to BBC, with whom Dimmock spoke to, the men have not communicated with anyone since Jan. 1.

"They were planning on going off-grid, so that's not unexpected at all," she told BBC. "I think they wanted to have some nights where they were out in nature and in fresh air and sleeping in the wild. They have all the gear and they've done hikes before. But they also wanted to get into huts and have fires and drink red wine because it was New Year's, which they did do, because he did message me at one point and he was carrying a log up the mountain to one of the huts."

Dimmock believes that Ziriat's phone died, or service was lost, as messages were no longer being delivered.

While the pair's exact location is unknown, family members and authorities have a general idea of which route they took. However, snow has been falling in the Dolomites, creating additional challenges for the search teams.

Authorities believe that their last known location was near the Casina Dosson.

The men, both from London, have friends that informed BBC that they will be flying into Italy to work with authorities, although they will be staying off the mountain themselves.

The news source states that several agencies are actively involved in the search mission, including Alpine Rescue, Guardia Di Finanza Rescue, Carabinieri, along with the local fire department.

Authorities will continue an around the clock search of the area where the men are presumed to be.