Young Belgian woman still missing in Peru

Natacha de Crombrugghe, a 28-year-old woman from Brussels, has been missing in Peru for two weeks since she went hiking alone near the Colca Canyon, following a visit to popular tourist site Machu Picchu.

The Public Prosecutor's Office of Brussels confirmed on Tuesday that her backpack had been found in the hotel where she was staying prior to her disappearance, Le Soir reports. For the moment, no further information about her disappearance is known. 

Searches for de Crombrugghe are ongoing. Policemen, mountain guides and rescuers have been combing the Colca valley for six days, using drones and dogs to help with the search. 

Another group of rescuers searching in an area known as Yaguar came across female clothing, according to reports from Het Laatste Nieuws.

The parents and brother of the missing Belgian woman arrived in Peru on Monday night to potentially identify the clothing, and to more closely follow the search. 

The last time anyone heard from de Crombrugghe was 23 January at 17:00, when she shared her location with friends. 

“It’s not impossible that she got lost,” said Marius Pons-Bordeaux, who traveled with her for a while, adding that he was very worried. “The weather was not good that day.”