Steven Harper.Photo:Stevie Harp/Facebook
Stevie Harp/Facebook
A Scottish cyclist who went missing in Europe last year has been found dead after falling off a cliff in Italy.
Steven Harper, 38, fell off the cliff near Ventimiglia in Italy in November while on a cycling trip from Dundee to India, according to theBBC,Sky NewsandThe Telegraph.
According to the BBC, his brother Dale said that Steven may have eaten possibly dangerous mushrooms after he was robbed of his bike and other belongings in Nice, France.
Dalesaid in a Facebook poston Sunday that his brother “mentioned preparing a meal with mushrooms and noodles before sleeping” in his last known message on Nov. 23.
“Steven might have ingested dangerous mushrooms containing deadly Amatoxin, which could lead to severe illness and potentially death,” he wrote.
The BBC and Sky News reported that Dale traveled to France last month to try to find Steven. But he was not informed that Steven’s body had been found until late last month, per the reports. He then flew out in January to identify him.
“The search ended in heartbreak with the discovery of Steven’s body in Italy,” Dale wrote on Facebook. “He had enough resources to survive but might have made a fatal mistake with the mushrooms.”
Steven was airlifted via helicopter and pronounced dead a short time later. His body was kept in a morgue, the BBC reported.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“I was left to grapple with the loss, the responsibility of identifying his body, and the realization of his final moments in a place he loved,” Dale wrote.
Dale told Sky News that he’s “proud” of his brother, but “I am just so broken knowing he’s not there anymore.”
The U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office told PEOPLE in a statement on Tuesday that the agency is working with the “family of a British national who died in Italy and are in contact with the local authorities.”
source: people.com
