Body found in search for University of Warwick professor

Police searching for a professor who vanished from a research trip to the Chilean desert in September say they have found his body.

University of Warwick academic Prof Tom Marsh went missing during a visit to La Silla Observatory.

His body was found about 5km (three miles) from the observatory in the country’s Atacama desert, police said.

The authorities have not revealed the cause of death.

The founding professor of the university’s astronomy and astrophysics group was reported missing from the observatory on 16 September, two days after arriving in the country.

The 60-year-old from Rugby had been working as a visiting astronomer at the European Southern Observatory.

In a Twitter update the local police said the body had been found “in the face of an intense search” by the team.

“We are sorry to deliver this sad news and express our condolences to his family and friends,” it said.

His family had travelled to northern Chile to follow the search operation, local media reported.

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