A week after he went missing in the Swiss Alps, the family of German businessman Karl-Erivan Haub is giving up their search.
Search efforts have been underway since April 7, when Haub, the billionaire heir to the Tengelmann retail empire, disappeared while training for an upcoming ski competition in the Matterhorn area. On Friday, however, Haub’s family said through a Tengelmann statement that the businessman, 58, had likely not survived the mountain’s extreme conditions, and that the rescue mission would become a “salvage search” for his body.
Tengelmann, a European retail conglomerate that owns supermarkets, clothing retailers, housewares stores, and other businesses, will finance the search, according to the statement.
The Haub family is among the richest in Germany, and has been running Tengelmann for five generations, according to Reuters. When Haub’s father, Erivan Haub, died in March, his wealth was estimated at $6.4 billion, Reuters adds.