Missing Limburg man found dead in German river

The body of missing Frans Router (73) was found in the Moselle River in Germany on Wednesday. The Roermond man went missing on Friday, when he did not return to his hotel after attending a wine festival in the village of Ellenz-Poltersdorf. According to the German police, he was killed in an accident - he fell into the river and hit his head on a stone, AD reports.

Router went to the wine festival with his sports club FC Fiets. Around 11:00 p.m. on Friday, he told his companions that he was heading back to the hotel early. When his friends arrived at the hotel later that night, Router was nowhere to be found. When he did not turn up, they called the police.

The German emergency services searched for the missing man in and around the village for days, deploying a helicopter, a boat, a sniffer dog and over a hundred people, AD reports. According to the German police, Router was found in the river about 150 meters from the hotel. A spokesperson called it a fatal accident on Wednesday night.

After his disappearance, Router's family created a Facebook page with photos of him and details about his disappearance, in the hopes that someone on social media can provide information about his whereabouts. On Wednesday, they shared news of his death on that same page. "Frans is found. He fell in the water. His head hit a rock and then he drowned. He didn't suffer", the post reads.

An autopsy will be done on Router's body on Saturday, to determine the exact cause of death.