Missing New Zealand climber identified after 42 years

Wellington: New Zealand police have identified the human remains found earlier this year on Mount Cook, as those of David Erik Moen, a climber who went missing 42 years ago.

Canterbury police announced on Thursday that DNA testing of the remains recovered from the Tasman Glacier area of the mountain in February had confirmed the climber`s identity as 19-year-old Moen, The New Zealand Herald reported.

Moen was climbing with an acquaintance when he was reportedly caught in an avalanche on September 16, 1973.

Moen`s family said in a statement that the uncertainty had been hard for them.

"We cannot put into words what it feels like to have David returned to us after all this time but we were taken back when he first went missing way back in 1973," the statement said.