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Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Myles Robinson, the 23-year-old British tourist whose body was found late Monday 28 December, had a “high level of alcohol” in his blood, 2 per 1,000 (200mg alcohol/100ml blood), canton Bern police announced late Wednesday, without providing his name, the norm for crimes and accidents in Switzerland. He had been drinking at a bar in Wengen before he walked a friend home, then disappeared. Initial tests showed no signs of drugs. The autopsy did not give any indication that a third party was involved in his death.

Ed. note: the alcohol level was four times that allowed for drinking and driving in Switzerland.

Police are strongly urging the public to stay away from the area where he fell and where his body was found. The weather has warmed up and there is a serious danger of ice and rock falls. The notice to the public is unusual, but the initially inexplicable disappearance and the nature of his death have prompted huge public interest, particularly among foreigners in the area and Britons in particular.

Police note that the body was found with great difficulty, given the terrain and the very high level of danger from falling rocks.

Robinson’s body was found at the bottom of a cliff and police now say that they believe his death was most likely an accident. He appears to have slipped while on rough terrain, then fallen 100 metres from the edge of a cliff. He was wearing one sock when he was found; the other sock was recovered near where he fell and one shoe was found at the top of the cliff. His cell phone was found not far from his body. It gave off signals that indicated it was in Wengen for some time after he disappeared, say police, but then  stopped because the battery ran out.

“It is unlikely that there will be a clear answer to the question of why the young man went to this dangerous terrain outside the centre of the village in the middle of the night,” the police press release states.

The investigation is continuing. The search for the missing shoe will be taken up once weather conditions permit.

The body was released to the family Wednesday afternoon.

Links to other sites: Britain’s National Health Service on alcohol, University of Oklahoma police department alcohol calculator