The remains of climbers who went missing 100 years ago have been discovered.

Human remains believed to belong to the British explorer Andrew 'Sandy' Irvine, who went missing during an expedition on Mount Everest in 1924, have been found. On June 8, 1924, Irvine attempted to climb the world's highest peak with his climbing partner, the famous mountaineer George Mallory, and they were never heard from again. While Mallory's remains were discovered in a 1999 expedition, no evidence of Irvine, who was 22 years old at the time of his disappearance, had been found. However, it has now emerged that a sock fragment bearing Irvine's name may have shed light on the 100-year-old mystery.

The discovery was made by a small team that included National Geographic researcher Jimmy Chin and filmmakers Erich Roepke and Mark Fisher. The team announced that Irvine's remains were found beneath the North Face of Everest, in the Central Rongbuk Glacier. It was noted that the remains were located at a lower altitude than where Mallory's remains were found in 1999. The fragmented remains are currently held by the China Tibet Mountaineering Association, which is responsible for climbing permits on the north side of Everest.

The discovery was reported to the Royal Geographical Society, which organized the expedition of Mallory and Irvine, and the society volunteered to compare DNA test results to confirm Irvine's identity. Emphasizing the significance of the discovery, Jimmy Chin stated, "Every expedition to Everest is overshadowed by Irvine and Mallory." Chin, who noted that sometimes the greatest discoveries in life happen when you least expect them, said, "This was a very important and emotional moment for us and the entire team in the field, and we hope it brings peace to their loved ones and the mountaineering community as a whole." Julie Summers, Irvine's niece and biographer, expressed that the discovery was "an extraordinary and poignant moment," highlighting that it coincided with the hundredth anniversary of the famous explorer's disappearance.

Julie, who said her father had been telling her about Uncle Sandy since she was seven, remarked, "The story became even more real when climbers found George Mallory's body in 1999. It seemed extremely unlikely that anything new would be found a quarter-century after that discovery. When Jimmy told me he saw the name AC Irvine on the label inside the boot, I was overwhelmed with tears."