Son's final journey is uncovered

Neil Tucker became trapped on a glacier in bad weather

A year after a Devon climber went missing in South America his family say they have finally discovered what happened to him.

Barry and Gillian Tucker have just returned to Barnstaple from a pilgrimage to the mountain which claimed their son's life.

At the age of 24 Neil Tucker had already scaled the highest mountains in Europe and Africa.

But his final adventure to climb Mount Pissis was to have a tragic end.

He had to have a challenge, that was his life Barry Tucker, Neil's father

He was trying to fulfil his ambition to scale the three highest peaks in each continent when he went missing in the Andes a year ago.

He was climbing the 22,241-feet (6,779 metre) Mount Pissis, the third highest mountain in South America, when he disappeared.

Speaking to an Argentinean film crew just before he disappeared, he said he was "very happy" in Argentina.

"The people are very nice and very friendly," he told the camera crew.

"I like Argentina very much - it's a very beautiful country. The weather's very good."

For the past year his parents have been trying to piece together his final hours.

His mother Gill said trying to find out what happened to Neil was "like fumbling in the dark".

"I spent hours and hours on the internet trying to contact people or just make general enquiries," she said.

"We did get little bits of story and other contacts to help us with our search.

"Eventually we were able to piece together parts of it but we knew to get the whole picture we would have to go out to Argentina, otherwise we would never ever have completed the picture."

Neil's mother Gill is currently in training for the London Marathon

After months of detective work they travelled out to the remote village where he had been staying.

There, with the help of an interpreter, they learnt how Neil had been trapped on a glacier when the weather changed unexpectedly.

Barry Tucker said: "He was hit by a blizzard and he would not have been able to get his tent down. He was on the glacier they think at the time.

"Even when they sent the rescue teams up and the army tried to get up, they were pushed back by the storms."

Neil's body has never been found, but his parents are determined to let his spirit of adventure live on.

His mother is currently in training for the London Marathon to raise money for a special fund in her son's name at North Devon College.

"He had to have a challenge, that was his life," said Barry.

On Saturday, the Tuckers will plant a copse of trees for Neil near the family home on what would have been his 26th birthday.