09:02 | Cusco (Cusco region), May. 21.
Police agents from Cusco's High Mountain Rescue Unit will conduct a specialized search for the foreign tourist who disappeared Wednesday after suddenly falling from the Machu Picchu Inca Trail.
Search and rescue operations for Australian citizen Mathew Cameron Patron, 53, were suspended Wednesday afternoon due to poor visibility in the ravine; however, efforts will resume early Thursday morning.
A team of agents specialized in steep mountain descent will rappel down the vegetation-covered slope.
Law enforcement personnel from the Machu Picchu police station, the Decentralized Directorate of Culture in Cusco (DDC), among others, will join the operation.
According to police information, the visitor, who was traveling with a group of tourists and guide Jose Vasquez, fell into the abyss in the "Liquenes de Colores" or "50 Gradas" sector along the Wiñaywayna–Inti Punku section, near the Machu Picchu Inca Citadel.
The accident occurred at around 2:00 p.m. (local time).
After the alert was issued, Culture Ministry personnel and police agents from the local station headed to the area to search for him using vertical progression techniques.
During the operation, authorities found several items that could correspond to the missing citizen.
(END) PHS/TMC/MVB
Published: 5/21/2026