Rescuers in Spain found the body of Cole Henderson, an American hiker who had been missing for nearly a month in the Pyrenees, police in Spain said Tuesday.
Rescuers found Henderson’s body Friday in an area that is difficult to access, about 200 meters (more than 650 feet) down the north face of Monte Perdido, the Guardia Civil, the Spanish police, said in an emailed statement. Rescue workers airlifted Henderson’s body from the location with the help of a crane.
The area where Henderson, 27, was found, along Spain’s northeast border with France, is known for lush meadows, steep canyons and rugged peaks. They include Mount Perdido, the third highest mountain in the Pyrenees, with a summit of 11,000 feet.
Henderson was last heard from July 9, when he texted friends around 2 p.m. from near Mount Perdido, according to posts from friends and family on social media. He had parked his car that day at a parking lot in the nearby town of Torla, police said, where he started his hike.
Friends reported Henderson missing after he failed to return home to Amsterdam, where he was living, on July 12. Spanish police said a search began two days later, on July 14, in Huesca province, which includes Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park and other areas of the Pyrenees.
Officials had deployed helicopters and members of the Guardia Civil’s specialty search and rescue teams, as well as dog units and drones.
Henderson had moved to Amsterdam from San Francisco, and in 2024 he started working for Dexter Energy, a company that uses artificial intelligence to help renewable energy companies. He graduated from Rhodes College in Tennessee in 2020 with a degree in computer science.
Henderson was an avid hiker, a runner and a soccer player, said Max Senoff, 26, a friend of Henderson’s in Amsterdam. Henderson lived an active life and had a “can-do mentality,” Senoff said, adding that his friend was someone who “very much cared about bringing people together.”
“My time in Amsterdam will never be the same without him.”