TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The family of a German professor who went missing in Hualien’s Taroko National Park arrived in Taiwan this week to continue the search and provide DNA samples to police. 

The 57-year-old Ralf Klausnitzer went missing in late March during a sightseeing trip to Hualien, roughly one week before a massive 7.2 earthquake struck the region on April 3. Authorities have said they do not believe his disappearance is related to the tremor, and he has not been counted as a casualty or missing person in the tally, per UDN. 

Using phone and video records, police traced Klausnitzer’s last known whereabouts to the Tianxiang community in Taroko National Park on the morning of March 26. It is believed he went to the Xiangde Temple between 7 and 8 a.m. that morning. 

Police received the missing person report for Klausnitzer on April 2, the day before the earthquake altered the park landscape. In the aftermath, police in Hualien continued to organize searches of the Tianxiang area and surrounding trails throughout April into early May. They did not find a trace of the man. 

Klausnitzer’s two sons arrived in Hualien on Saturday (June 10) to survey the area where their father was last seen. They provided DNA samples to police to help with rapid identification if unidentifiable remains were found. 

The two men also visited the entrance of the Shakadang Trail overlooking the park to pray that their father would be found and that his spirit could rest in peace, reported UDN.