Chania (Greece) - A 20-year-old German tourist has been missing on the Greek vacation island of Crete since February - now Johann W. has been found dead.

The young man from Baden-Württemberg had set off alone into the famous Samaria Gorge to find a way to cope with the loss of his mother, who died of cancer in October 2024.

But what began as an attempt to come to terms with his grief ended in tragedy.

As the Greek online platform"Flashnews" reports, Johann was found dead by mountain climbers on Friday morning. The young man was lying in a particularly dangerous, steep section near Giglio.

Drones, helicopters and dogs searched for him for weeks - but the desperate search was unsuccessful .

A team of firefighters from Anopolis has now taken on the task of recovering his body.

Johann had daily contact with his sister Teresa until this suddenly broke off.

The young woman immediately set off to Crete with other family members to search for her brother.

In an interview with RTL, Teresa said that she was not informed by the police about her brother's disappearance, but was told by someone at Johann's youth hostel.

In a moving article on March 8, his sister recently shared the touching story of Johann, who had devotedly cared for his mother, who was suffering from lung cancer, in her final months.

When his mother finally died, Johann found solace in running to cope with his deep grief. His hobby apparently became his undoing in the gorges of Crete.

The exact circumstances of his death are not yet known.

First reported on March 14, 10.06 am. Updated at 10.44 am.