Big search operation in Aurland: – I think Christoffer (29) has fallen into the fjord

The family reported Elgåen missing on Monday morning, as they had not contacted him the day before. The last safe observation is made on Friday night, when he went home after visiting friends.

Trygve Skjerdal, mayor of Aurland and acquaintance of the 29-year-old, tells Dagbladet.

We know little, but he’s been visiting friends on Friday night. There are many signs that it has fallen into the fjord.

Left for dead

DISCOUNTED SEARCH: A large number of volunteers, as well as police, Red Cross and firefighters, are searching for 29-year-old Christoffer in Aurlandsfjord. The image is from Wednesday’s search operation, near where the 29-year-old mobile phone was found at the water’s edge. Photography: Arne Veum / Aurlendingen
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On Monday night, the status of the search was changed and Elgåen is believed to have died, writes Bergens Tidende, who first mentioned the case.

– It’s very heavy. Our goal is to find Christoffer, says Skjerdal.

After the search operation was launched, it was a long time before crews found traces of Elgåen. Among other things, the 29-year-old’s mobile phone was found in the rugged and rugged terrain between the county road and the fjord, Skjerdal says.

– At the site, there are steep mountains above and very deep in the fjord. The difference in height from the road to the fjord is six to seven meters, the mayor tells BT.

Police station manager Knut Arne Klingenberg of the police tells Dagbladet that the fjord is about 400 meters deep where the mobile phone was found.

– We don’t have much else to move on, apart from the information we have received from friends and family. He has been traveling from one point to another, and there he has disappeared. This is an accident as we see it, says Klingenberg.

Many volunteers

Mayor Skjerdal says Elgåen is a guy many know in the small western countryside of just under 2,000 inhabitants. Therefore, a large number of people have been absent from work to participate in the search operation.

– He has a great network of contacts, and is a handsome young man, very open, social and welcoming, says the mayor.

According to police, there are 37 volunteers and 15 boats in Thursday’s search, in addition to the Red Cross, police and firefighters.

– It is a formidable mobilization, as it always happens when things like this happen in small towns. Some employers line up with people who probably should have been working. We have also rented and loaned equipment, says the mayor.

On Wednesday night, an ROV, a remote-controlled submarine, arrived from Bergen to aid the search deep in the fjord.