Missing 23-year-old student found dead in Starnberg Lake near Munich
A diver recovered a body from Starnberg Bay on Wednesday, 14 October, which police say is most likely the 23-year-old student who went missing after a boat outing on the lake.
Body found in Starnberg Bay
A diver from a specialist firm in Munich recovered a body from Starnberg Bay on Wednesday afternoon, 14 October, police said. According to the police, the body is most likely that of the 23-year-old student who had been missing since a boat accident on the lake. Spiegel Online describes the recovery as carried out by a diving robot, while other outlets speak of a diver, so the method is reported inconsistently.
The boat outing
The man had gone out on the lake in a boat with two friends, and the three took turns jumping into the water. After about half an hour, the 23-year-old, who could not swim, probably could not get back into the boat. His two friends tried to save him, but he clung to the helpers so tightly that they got into distress too and could not pull him aboard. Spiegel Online and RP Online date the outing to June 2025, while Bayerischer Rundfunk, Tagesspiegel and Sueddeutsche Zeitung describe it as mid-June, about four months before the recovery. Spiegel Online and Sueddeutsche Zeitung describe him as an Indian student.
Search without success
After the alarm, the Wasserwacht and the Wasserschutzpolizei Starnberg searched for him using drones, search dogs and a sonar boat. The search did not find him. The timeline below sets out the key points as the reports give them.
- Three friends take turns jumping from a boat on the Starnberg lake, and the 23-year-old, who could not swim, probably cannot get back in.
- The Wasserwacht and the Starnberg water police search with drones, search dogs and a sonar boat, without success.
- A diver recovers a body from Starnberg Bay, which police say is most likely the missing student.
An earlier diving death in the same lake
Bayerischer Rundfunk also reports that a 63-year-old diver died in the Starnberg lake in September. After days of searching, his body was found at about 60 metres depth at the Allmannshauser Steilwand. The report mentions this case alongside the present one, since both involve the same lake.
