The British adventurer's foot is believed to have been found on Mount Everest after 100 years of speculation about his disappearance.
Andrew “Sandy” Irvine was the youngest member in 1924 Mount Everest expedition and went missing on the higher slopes of the mountain with George Mallory when they both disappeared on June 8 of the same year.
Irvine, 22, and Mallory, 38, were last seen about 250 meters from the summit as they attempted their first successful ascent.
The mystery of whether the duo reached the summit before their disappearance has been debated by climbers and historians for decades.
There were also several searches for Mr Irvine's remains after Mr Mallory's remains were discovered by a climber in 1999.
In the latest study, a team funded by National Geographic Documentary Films for an upcoming documentary discovered a foot encased in a sock and shoe on the Central Rongbuk Glacier below Everest's north face.
Most importantly, the name “AC Irvine” is embroidered on the sock.
The discovery is the first possible evidence of Irvine's death since his ill-fated 1924 expedition to the 8,849-meter mountain.
The Irvine family volunteered to compare DNA test results to the remains to confirm his identity.
The foot was found at a lower altitude than Mr Mallory's remains, which are now held by the Chinese Tibetan Mountaineering Association.
The discovery was reported to the Royal Geographical Society, which, together with the Alpine Club, organized Mallory and Irvine's expedition.
Jimmy Chin, a National Geographic explorer and member of the climbing team that discovered the foot, said: “Sometimes in life, the greatest discoveries happen when we're not even looking.
“It was a monumental and emotional moment for us and our entire team on the ground, and we only hope it will finally bring peace of mind to his loved ones and the entire climbing world.”
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Irvine's niece and biographer, Julie Summers, stated that she was “moved to tears” when she learned of the discovery.
“I've lived with this story since I was seven years old, when my father told us about the secret of Uncle Sandy on Everest,” she said.
“The story became more real when climbers found George Mallory's body in 1999 and I wondered if Sandy's body would be discovered next.
“A quarter of a century after this discovery, it seemed extremely unlikely that anything new had been discovered.
“When Jimmy told me he saw the AC Irvine name on the sock tag inside the shoe, I was moved to tears. It was and will remain an extraordinary and touching moment.”
The north face of Mount Everest. Photo: AP
Professor Joe Smith, Director of the Royal Geographical Society, said of the discovery: 'As co-organizer of the 1924 Everest Expedition (with the Alpine Club), the Society deeply appreciates the respect shown by Jimmy Chin's team to the remains of Sandy Irvine, and their sensitivity towards Sandy's family members and others associated with this expedition.
“Sandy was a unique figure and made a significant contribution to our understanding of Everest and the Himalayas.”
A statement from the Irvine family said: “We are grateful to the team of climbers and filmmakers, led by Jimmy Chin, who made the discovery and treated it with respect and professionalism.”
