The Corps of the Carabineros de Chile announced on Thursday the discovery of the lifeless body of the British astronomer Thomas Marsh, 61, disappeared two months ago in strange circumstances after arriving at the La Silla observatory, in the northern town of Coquimbo, owned by the international consortium European Southern Observatory (ESO).
The astrophysicist had landed in Chile on 14 September in the company of a first-year doctoral student from the University of Warwick (England), who had become one of the key pieces of the investigation, having been the last to see him.
Apparently, and according to the details of the investigation released through the local press, the two had an argument before the night of Thursday 16 September, the date on which they were supposed to appear at the TNN telescope.
Two months later, and in a short message spread through social networks, The Carabineros de Chile corps in Coquimbo confirmed Marsh’s death on Thursday, without giving details of the whereabouts or the conditions in which the body was found.
“Faced with intense research by the multidisciplinary team of the Carabineros, Gope Coquimbo found the lifeless body of an astronomer who disappeared since September 16. We regret providing this sad news and express our condolences to his family and his friends “, announced Carabineros without further explanation.
The only clues investigators have about Marsh’s mysterious disappearance were the keys to his room, who were found lying on the street, on the way to the Observatory, and the story of the 23-year-old student, who left Chile more than a month ago with a promise to continue working with the authorities.
“The witness is available for the entire investigation procedure, but in relation to his position I cannot indicate him”, the prosecutor of the case, Adrián Vega, explained to the press at the time.
On September 29, the daughter of astrophysics, Tabitha Marsh, launched a desperate message on social networks and asked for the maximum diffusion of the case to find her father.
“Thanks a lot to everyone who has shared this so far, please keep sharing. Two weeks and still nothing. We desperately want you to come home, “she said.
What happened?
The scientist Thomas Richard Marsh It left at 6 am on Friday 16 September from the La Silla Observatory, in the Atacama Desert (Chile). I had worked all night and He was on his way to rest in the nearby hotel, but something happened.
Nothing has been known about him from that day until now.
The main question for researchers is how she could have disappeared on that short walk in an arid areawith little vegetation, when in addition, It wasn’t the first time Marsh had been there.
As reported, all of her clothes and other personal belongings, including her passport, were found intact in the room where he was staying.
after a few days no news from the 60-year-old British researchers, one of his colleagues filed a complaint with the authorities so that they could start the search work. Works that ended today with the discovery of the detective’s body.
A search by land, sea and air in which, in addition to the personnel of the Public Prosecutor, the military, Pdi and Carabineros participated, and which today ended in an undesirable way.
According to this institution, the student was instrumental in the investigation, having been the first to report Marsh’s disappearance and provided important information.
The Southern European Observatory in Chile, which has its own legal status with diplomatic privileges, immediately authorized the investigations and provided logistical support, such as room and board, to all personnel operating in an area of over 300,000 hectares.
The La Silla Observatory
It is an astronomical observatory in Chile with three telescopes built and managed by the European Southern Observatory, an intergovernmental research organization made up of 16 member states for ground-based astronomy.
The observatory is one of the largest in the southern hemisphere. It is located about 95 kilometers northeast of the city of La Serena, on the outskirts of the Atacama Desert, one of the driest and most remote places in the world.
Source: Clarin
