Death Valley Germans
Tourist family gone missing in 1996
Why this is trending
Interest in “Death Valley Germans” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-06-03.
Categorised under Geography & Places, this article fits a familiar pattern. wt.cat.geography.1
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Key Takeaways
- The Death Valley Germans (as dubbed by the media) were a family of four tourists from Germany who went missing in Death Valley National Park, on the California–Nevada border, in the United States, on 23 July 1996.
- In 2009, the remains of the two adult members of the family were discovered by hikers who were searching a remote area for evidence of the fate of the tourists.
- The group arrived in the United States on 8 July 1996 at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, immediately flying on to Los Angeles International Airport, where they rented a green 1996 Plymouth Voyager minivan.
- During the trip, Rimkus called his bank in Germany requesting $1,500 to be wired to them in California and then faxed his ex-wife asking for additional funds, which were never sent.
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Source summary
WikipediaThe Death Valley Germans (as dubbed by the media) were a family of four tourists from Germany who went missing in Death Valley National Park, on the California–Nevada border, in the United States, on 23 July 1996. Despite an intense search and rescue operation, no trace of the family was discovered and the search was called off. In 2009, the remains of the two adult members of the family were discovered by hikers who were searching a remote area for evidence of the fate of the tourists.
The family consisted of 34-year-old architect Egbert Rimkus, his 11-year-old son Georg Weber, Rimkus's 27-year-old girlfriend Cornelia Meyer and her 4-year-old son Max Meyer, all of whom were from Dresden, Germany. The group arrived in the United States on 8 July 1996 at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, immediately flying on to Los Angeles International Airport, where they rented a green 1996 Plymouth Voyager minivan. They spent some time in the San Clemente area of Southern California, then drove to the Las Vegas Valley, where they stayed at the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino. During the trip, Rimkus called his bank in Germany requesting $1,500 to be wired to them in California and then faxed his ex-wife asking for additional funds, which were never sent.
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