Can you help find Tom Marsh?
Yesterday I heard the worrying news that astronomer Professor Tom Marsh of Warwick University (UK) went missing on 16th September 2022 while on an observing trip at the European Southern Observatory facility in La Silla, Chile. Despite extensive searches over the last week he has not yet been found.
I know it’s a long shot but I’m posting this here in the hope that somebody somewhere might have information about his whereabouts.
There is also a statement from ESO here with further details
Marsh is described as white, about 192 cm in height, with balding grey hair and a beard. He is likely to be wearing a blue rain jacket, walking boots and a grey woollen hat.
Please forward this as widely as possible!
UPDATE: 11/11/2022. Sadly, almost two months after being reported missing, the body of Tom Marsh has now been found. The cause of death has not yet been announced.
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In the Dark 
September 23, 2022 at 8:25 pm
This is greatly concerning. We must hope that Prof. Marsh is found well.
I can’t comment on this particular case, and I’ll avoid doing so, or speculating as to what has happened.
The issue of the safety of visiting scientists is always a concern for observatories, and visitors are often asked not to go walking off the site on their own, but in many cases it is asking a bit much. Observatories are commonly located in exceptional natural environments, which visitors will want to explore. Those in La Palma are built on the ridge of an extraordinary volcanic caldera, and a stumble while walking away from the site could be hazardous to say the least.
Located close to La Silla are some ancient petroglyphs, carved by an a former civilisation high in the Andes. I have visited them on my own, and care has to be taken under those circumstances to avoid accidents.
September 23, 2022 at 10:43 pm
[…] ein britischer Astronom spurlos verschwunden, der auf La Silla beobachten sollte: mehr, mehr und mehr. [23:40 […]
November 19, 2022 at 11:06 am
[…] two months ago I posted an urgent appeal for information about the whereabouts of Prof. Tom Marsh, who had gone missing while on an observing trip in La Silla, Chile. The longer the time he was […]