Remains of a person missing since devastating floods in 2021 have been found in Germany

BERLIN (AP) — Remains of a person missing since devastating summer floods in western Germany more than two years ago were found near the mouth of the small Ahr river, police said Tuesday.

People collecting garbage in an area where the Ahr flows into the Rhine in the town of Sinzig found several bones and bone fragments on Oct 15. Investigators carried out a DNA test that police said determined the remains were those of a person who had been missing since the floods.

They didn’t give any details on the person, citing the need to protect their relatives.

More than 230 people died in Germany and neighboring Belgium in the floods on July 14, 2021.

The hardest-hit area was the Ahr valley, a wine-growing region south of Cologne where more than 130 people died when heavy rain turned the Ahr river and streams into torrents that swept away houses, roads and bridges.

The remains found this month belonged to one of two people who were still missing.