Rachel Ward's parents tell of beautiful daughter

Jan 16 2009 by Chris Robinson, The Journal

THE parents of a Durham University student who froze to death after falling and slipping in an Alpine river have spoken of their devastation at the loss of their “beautiful daughter”.

Rachel Ward, a 20-year-old undergraduate, was walking home from a party in the French ski resort of Val d’Isere early on Tuesday morning when the accident happened. The talented sportswoman, who was on the committee of Durham University’s hockey club, had sent a text message to a friend saying “I’m lost” moments before she slipped and fell into the icy Isere River.

Her parents, Edna and Colin, and brother, Richard, of Halifax, West Yorkshire, have travelled to Val d’Isere with British consular officials.

In a statement, they said: “Rachel, a gifted natural sciences student at Durham University, had arrived at the resort at the weekend for a skiing holiday with college friends.

“Police statements confirm that Rachel had not been drinking excessively.

“After taking a short cut over the piste, it appears that Rachel became lost. She phoned a friend telling him she could not locate the accommodation.

“It is believed Rachel may have slipped into a shallow river and was tragically overcome by the extreme cold and succumbed to hypothermia.”

Miss Ward is the second Durham University student to die in tragic circumstances within three days.

On Saturday, climber James Atkinson, 21, and his friend Rob Gauntlett, also 21, plunged to their deaths in the Chamonix region of France.