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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Ryan Fahey

Brit astronomer Tom Marsh missing in Chilean desert confirmed dead after body found

A British astronomer who went missing in the Chilean desert has been confirmed dead days after a body was found.

Warwick University earlier revealed that a body had been found in the search for missing academic.

Prof Marsh, 60, went missing on September 16 while working at La Silla observatory, which is located on the outskirts of the Atacama Desert in Chile.

On Thursday, Warwick University said that a body had been found following an update from local authorities searching for the astronomer.

In a Twitter update, police said that the body had been found in the desert around three miles away from the observatory after an "intense search".

A community page dedicated to the educator said: "It’s the news we had all been dreading over the last two agonising months."

The police gave their condolences to Prof Marsh's family, who are in northern Chile, having travelled out there to assist in the search operation.

In a statement Warwick University said that no formal identification of the body has been made yet.
Provost Christine Ennew said that it was "deeply distressing" news for Prof Marsh's family, as well as the university's wider community.

"This is deeply distressing news for Tom's family and our thoughts are of course with them, along with his colleagues and our wider community," she said.

"And we realise it's particularly difficult while people are waiting for formal identification to take place.

"I know what a terrible time this is for the colleagues who knew Tom and counted him as a close friend as well as an inspirational academic and mentor.

"For anyone who has been impacted by today's news, please do use the wellbeing support that's there to help you during this difficult time.

"We will keep you updated with any further developments."

An FCDO spokesperson said they are in contact with the local authorities.

"We are supporting the family of a British man missing in Chile and are in contact with the local authorities," they said.

One the community page detailing his achievements and just how much he meant to the university staff and students, a spokesperson called him an "outstanding academic and researcher".

"Although in his typically modest way he rarely mentioned his significant achievements," the statement added

"He was motivated not by awards but by a deep love and passion for science.
"But he wasn’t just a brilliant academic. Just as importantly he was kind, considerate and a much-loved member of our community, acting as a mentor and inspiration to generations of students and colleagues."

The page added that during his 40-year career, he authored "some 800 notes and papers" on astronomy - using his techniques to find "extra-solar planets".

Adrian Vega, the regional prosecutor in Coquimbo, Chile, previously braned the search “painstaking” as they looked for traces of the professor, and certain materials were being tested by scientists in labs, he said at the time.

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