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Missing German Backpacker Oliver Heise Confirmed Dead on Tenerife

DNA identification of remains found in 2025 ends years of uncertainty for his family.

Overview

  • Heise’s family, which shared the news Friday on Instagram, says Spanish forensic findings point to a fatal fall with no evidence of foul play or suicide.
  • A hunter discovered human remains in a ravine near Igueste de Candelaria on February 5, 2025, and recent DNA testing matched them to Heise.
  • The remains showed burn damage that the family’s lawyer links to Tenerife wildfires in August 2023, a factor that likely slowed identification.
  • Relatives are arranging repatriation and a burial after learning insurance would not cover the costs, and a GoFundMe campaign reached its goal on Saturday evening.
  • Heise was last heard from on August 4, 2022 after posting from Tenerife, and extensive German-Spanish searches and TV appeals later found no trace until the discovery in 2025.