A 58-year-old woman has been missing on Mount Ararat for 48 days after an expedition in eastern Türkiye that prosecutors are now examining over claims of alleged negligence.

Sevim Yilmaz, a mother of two, disappeared during a summit attempt on March 22 after reportedly being left alone at an altitude of 4,700 meters (15,420 feet). The case has raised serious questions over decision-making during the climb, the handling of emergency calls, and whether the missing climber’s condition was properly reported to authorities.

Details from the investigation file, reported by online news platform T24, indicate that group guide Emre Varol continued toward the summit with other members of the team after Yilmaz separated from the group.

Missing at 4,700 meters

Yilmaz set out on March 17 with group guide Emre Varol, Tamer Takavci, Anil Gurman, and Ali Bazazzade to climb Mount Ararat, known in Türkiye as Agri Dagi. The group received logistical support on the mountain and set up its first camp at 3,400 meters the same day.

Bazazzade left the group early on March 18 after reportedly becoming unwell. Former Survivor contestant and national mountaineer Serkan Ercan later joined the team.

The group reached a camp area at 3,900 meters on March 21 and began the summit climb at around 3:00 a.m. on March 22 after a technical meeting.

According to the investigation file, Yilmaz later sent a WhatsApp message to Anil Gurman at around 4,700 meters, saying she was slowing the group down and would rest before turning back.

“There is no problem. I am slowing you down, you continue, I am fine. I will rest a little and start returning,” she reportedly wrote.

The file states that Varol then used Gurman’s phone to send Yilmaz a voice message warning her not to go back alone.

“You definitely will not return. Returning is very dangerous,” Varol reportedly said, while telling her to get into a bivy bag, remain where she was, and turn on her headlamp.

Varol stated that the weather was clear at that moment, according to the file. Despite Yilmaz being alone at 4,700 meters, the group continued the summit attempt.

Emergency call questioned

The team continued climbing up to around 5,000 meters but abandoned the summit attempt after the weather suddenly deteriorated, according to Varol’s statement.

On the descent, the group reached the point where Yilmaz had been last seen but could not find her. The file states that Gurman panicked and faced a risk of hypothermia, prompting a call to Türkiye’s 112 emergency call center.

The investigation file says Varol intervened during the call through Gurman’s phone and told the emergency call center, “There is no emergency case, everything is fine,” despite Yilmaz being missing.

A person identified only as O.P. claimed that Varol did not mention Yilmaz in his first calls with the emergency call center and said the team consisted of four people.

The file reportedly states that Yilmaz’s situation was later reported to the gendarmerie and other institutions only after the group reached the camp area at 3,900 meters.

Former husband alleges serious failures

Yilmaz’s former husband, Nusret Ozdemir, said he believed guide Varol had committed serious errors during the climb and criticized the lack of response from the Turkish Mountaineering Federation, known as TDF.

“No one from the TDF was calling me about the incident,” Ozdemir said. “I told them, ‘Why are you completely silent?’”

Ozdemir also claimed there had been previous allegations involving Varol leaving people behind during past climbs.

“They left Yilmaz there and carried on toward the summit. How can that possibly make sense?” he said.

He said there was currently no search-and-rescue operation for Yilmaz, adding that authorities did not want to take risks.

Ozdemir rejected any defense based on the weather being clear when Yilmaz was left behind.

“Even if the weather was perfect, this was Mount Ararat. The weather can change in 10 minutes,” he said. “None of this makes any sense. I also cannot understand how the others went along with it. Did no one stop and ask, ‘What are we doing?’”

The investigation file requested the opening of a public case against Varol and A.C., who provided logistical support to the group, on charges of causing death and injury by negligence.

The investigation is continuing. Yilmaz’s lawyers have also requested the TDF to cancel Varol’s mountaineering and guiding license and impose a financial penalty.

May 08, 2026 11:23 AM GMT+03:00