Son of American climber found mummified on mountain 22 years after vanishing speaks out about shocking moment he received heartbreaking phone call

The son of an American mountain climber who disappeared in the Andes more than two decades ago says the U.S. Embassy in Peru offered no help in recovering his father’s body when it was found last month.

Bill Stampfl was reported missing in June 2002 at the age of 59 after his climbing group was buried by an avalanche on Mount Huascaran in the Ancash region of Peru.

But on June 29, nearly 22 years later, his son Joseph received a phone call from a stranger, telling him he had come across the climber’s frozen body during his own ascent of Huascaran.

“I think we were all a bit disbelieving at first. It was 22 years ago, but we hadn’t waited every day,” he told DailyMail.com

He immediately got to work and began the logistical preparations to bring his father’s body home.

The U.S. Embassy in Peru, which assisted in the initial investigation more than two decades ago, now provided a list of funeral homes.

Rescue workers working to retrieve Bill’s body from the mountain last week

Bill died along with his friends Matthew Richardson and Steve Erskine when they attempted to climb the 22,000-foot mountain in 2002.

Ryan Cooper, his brother and guide Daniel Milla Lliuya, part of Peru Mountains Climbing, found Bill in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range during their descent of the mountain, after his remains were exposed by melting ice.

They discovered him on June 27 near a camp 17,060 feet above sea level.

Bill’s body, clothing, armor and boots were well preserved by the ice and freezing temperatures.

His ID was found among his belongings, allowing Cooper to identify him and contact his loved ones.

Joseph was shocked when he heard that his father’s body had finally been found. “That phone call first thing on a Saturday was pretty surreal. It took me a while to process it. At first I thought this wasn’t real,” he said.

‘When I called Ryan and talked to him and he described the scenario, it became more realistic.

“I think there were a lot of emotional highs and lows on Saturday. It was quite a rollercoaster.

“We were very happy that after all these years we could finally lay my father to rest.”

Bill’s son Joseph received a phone call from a stranger on June 29, almost exactly 22 years later, who said he had come across the climber’s frozen body while making his own ascent of Huascaran

His body, as well as his clothes, harness and boots were well preserved by the ice and freezing temperatures. His ID was found among his belongings, allowing the climbers to identify him

Bill was reported missing in June 2002, at age 59, when an avalanche buried his climbing group on Mount Huascaran. His remains were found this month after an ice melt

He immediately contacted his sister Jennifer before they all called his stepmother, uncle and Ryan.

They then all worked on the logistics of recovering Bill’s body from the mountain and bringing it back to the US.

Joseph said he was unable to contact the U.S. Embassy over the weekend and that 911 was not much help.

He had to wait until Monday to get an answer and was disappointed with the response.

“Is a funeral home going up the mountain to pick up my father’s body?” he asked.

He gave up and began planning how to get his father home, using a private search and rescue company, the Peruvian Mountain Rescue Association.

The team began the mission on July 4 and Joseph said, “They were amazing, giving us hourly updates on the logistics.”

He would not disclose how much his family paid to have his father’s body returned, but said: “It was a significant amount, it was a bit surprising. But we would pay for most of it.”

Police in Peru said Tuesday they had recovered Bill’s body from the mountain where he was buried by the avalanche.

A group of police officers and mountain guides placed his body on a stretcher, covered it with an orange tarp and slowly carried it down the icy mountain.

The body was found at an elevation of 17,060 feet, about a nine-hour hike from one of the camps where climbers stop as they scale Huascaran’s steep summit.

A team of 13 climbers took part in the recovery operation: five officers from an elite police unit and eight mountain guides working for Grupo Alpamayo, a local tour operator that organizes climbers to Huascaran and other peaks in the Andes.

Eric Raul Albino, director of Grupo Alpamayo, said he was hired by Bill’s family to recover the body.

The Stampfl family worked with local guides and authorities to recover his remains over the weekend. His body was then placed in a morgue in the city of Huaraz. Rescue workers are pictured during the recovery effort

Peruvian mountain police and mountain rescue workers transport the remains of American climber Bill down the mountain

Joseph was shocked when he heard through a phone call on June 29 that his father’s body had finally been found

Bill introduced his wife Janet Stampfl-Raymer

Lenin Alvardo, one of the police officers who took part in the recovery operation, said his clothes were still largely intact.

The fanny pack containing his driver’s license also contained sunglasses, a camera, a voice recorder and two decomposing twenty-dollar bills.

On her left hand was still a gold wedding ring. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Alvarado said.

Bill’s family arranged for a funeral home to take him to Lima on Friday.

They drove over seven hours to Huaraz and worked with the US Embassy to get all the paperwork signed.

Bill will be cremated and then his ashes and personal effects will be flown back to the US.

“We were warned it could take 20 days, but they’re way ahead of schedule. We expect to get him back sometime next week, probably Monday,” Joseph said.

He added that the family has no final plans for a funeral service, but that they plan to scatter some of his ashes at Mount Baldy, near his home in San Bernardino County, California.

Joseph said his father trained here and that he always walked up the stairs in his house with 30 kilos of sand in his backpack.

Erskine’s body was found shortly after the avalanche, but Richardson’s is still missing.

Bill (left) died along with his friends Matthew Richardson and Steve Erskine (right) when they attempted to climb the 22,000-foot mountain in 2002.

Erskine’s body (left) was found shortly after the avalanche, but Richardson’s is still missing.

Bill will be cremated before his ashes along with his personal effects are flown back to the US

The mountains of northeastern Peru, with snow-capped peaks such as Huascaran and Cashan, are a favorite with climbers from all over the world.

Hundreds of climbers visit the mountain every year with local guides. It takes about a week to reach the top.

More and more remains of missing hikers, skiers and climbers are being discovered as glaciers around the world continue to melt.

A study last year by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization found that the Andes are home to some of the fastest-disappearing glaciers and ice sheets in the world.

It is reported that 30 to 50 percent of the region’s ice cover has been lost over the past 40 years, eliminating some of the area’s “most valuable” glaciers.