The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) said bone fragments uncovered on King George Island have been identified as those of Dennis "Tink" Bell, a 25-year-old meteorologist who vanished on 26 July 1959 after falling into a crevasse during an expedition for the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, BAS’s predecessor. A Polish research team stationed at Henryk Arctowski base discovered the remains and more than 200 personal effects on 19 January 2025, when the retreat of Ecology Glacier exposed previously buried rocks and debris. Bell had been trekking with colleagues and dog sleds toward a plateau above Admiralty Bay when he went ahead of the party without skis to encourage the tiring dogs. He survived an initial 30-metre fall but plunged again when the belt securing the rescue rope snapped, making recovery impossible in worsening weather. His disappearance became one of BAS’s longest-unresolved losses. The newly recovered fragments were carried aboard the research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough to the Falkland Islands before being flown to London. Forensic geneticists at King’s College London matched the DNA to samples from Bell’s brother, David Bell, and sister, Valerie Kelly, confirming the identification. BAS Director Professor Dame Jane Francis said the find ‘brings closure to a decades-long mystery and highlights the human stories embedded in Antarctic research.’ The family expressed gratitude to BAS and the Polish team for returning Bell home after 66 years.