American Hiker, 27, Found Dead in Remote Mountains After Failing to Board Flight Home Nearly a Month Ago

A 27-year-old American, Cole Henderson, was found dead in Spain more than a month after disappearing during a solo hike, Spanish authorities said.

Police confirmed on Tuesday, August 12, that rescuers discovered Henderson’s body in Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, according to NBC News.

Henderson was last heard from on Wednesday, July 9, when he texted a friend saying he was starting a hike in the park. He told friends he would put his phone on airplane mode.

Friends reported him missing after he failed to catch a flight to his home in Amsterdam on Sunday, July 13. According to a Facebook post by his friend Max Senoff, Henderson had left his car in the town of Torla before beginning the hike.

Authorities said Henderson’s body was found on Friday, August 8, on the north face of Monte Perdido — the third-highest mountain in the Pyrenees. Rescuers used a crane to recover his body from the rugged area.

Henderson, originally from Tennessee, graduated from Rhodes College in 2020 with a degree in computer science. He had recently moved from San Francisco to Amsterdam, where he worked for Dexter Energy. He loved hiking, running, and playing soccer, friends said.

Senoff, one of Henderson’s close friends, remembered him as a “great planner” who always brought people together. “My time in Amsterdam will never be the same without him,” he said.

Henderson was also the grandson of Jane Dudley, founder of the Swan Ball, an annual charity gala in Tennessee.