Frozen Secrets Unveiled: Lost British Researcher’s Remains Discovered After 66 Years Beneath Antarctic Ice
As soon as conditions improved, the researchers returned to the site of the incident, hoping to find Bell alive. But it was clear that he hadn’t survived, and his body would remain in Antarctica for decades.
“There was no conclusion. There was no service; there was no anything. Just Dennis gone,” Bell’s younger brother, David Bell, now 86, told the BBC.
Over Half A Century Later, Dennis Bell Finally Comes Home
British Antarctic SurveyBell (right) with his colleagues at the Admiralty Bay Base on Christmas.
Now, 66 years after Dennis Bell’s tragic death, Polish researchers have recovered his remains, bringing closure and solace to his family.
Members of a Polish Antarctic expedition were conducting research on a receding glacier in Antarctica, when they suddenly found bone fragments and more than 200 personal items among the exposed rocks in January 2025. DNA testing later confirmed that the bones belonged to Dennis Bell.
Among the personal items uncovered was radio equipment, a flashlight, ski poles, an inscribed Erguel wristwatch, and a Swedish Mora knife.
The remains and the items were transferred to the Falkland Islands on the research ship Sir David Attenborough. From there, Bell’s remains made the journey back home to the U.K., accompanied by the Royal Air Force and His Majesty’s Coroner for British Antarctic Territory, Malcolm Simmons.
DNA testing was conducted by Denise Syndercombe Court, a professor in forensic genetics at King’s College London. She confirmed the match using DNA samples from Bell’s surviving brother and sister.
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