Israeli found dead in Crete after apparent accident; Israeli hiker missing in India

Michal Peleg, 65, tripped and fell off a cliff, her family believes; meanwhile, US-Israeli Samuel Vengrinovich, 44, from Jaffa, is missing after hiking in rough weather Friday

L: Undated image of missing Israeli Michal Peleg, found dead on June 10, 2025 in Crete, Greece. (Facebook, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law); R: US-Israeli hiker Samuel Vengrinovich who is missing in India. (Courtesy)
L: Undated image of missing Israeli Michal Peleg, found dead on June 10, 2025 in Crete, Greece. (Facebook, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law); R: US-Israeli hiker Samuel Vengrinovich who is missing in India. (Courtesy)

The body of Michal Peleg, a 65-year-old Israeli woman who went missing in Crete last week, was found on Tuesday not far from where she was staying, in what appeared to be an accidental death during a solo hike, her family told Hebrew media.

Her body was recovered from the sea, leading her family to believe she tripped and fell off a cliff into the water.

Peleg had been planning to return to Israel on Tuesday, her loved ones said, after several months in the village of Kavousi, where she was renting an apartment and writing a book.

The Foreign Ministry said on Saturday evening that it, along with the Israeli embassy in Greece, was in contact with Peleg’s family and with Greek police, who had received a missing report on Thursday, to coordinate search efforts.

Israeli insurance company Harel, which provided Peleg’s insurance, dispatched a three-person search and rescue team to the Greek island on Saturday.

Separately Tuesday, it was reported that Samuel Vengrinovich, an Israeli-American man, has been missing since Friday, after hiking in the mountains near Dharamshala in northern India.

The 44-year-old resident of Jaffa was last seen on Friday during a trek to the Triund Ridge, a popular hiking destination in the Himachal Pradesh region. His disappearance prompted an extensive search effort by local authorities, Israeli volunteers, and private rescue teams.

According to fellow hikers, Vengrionovitch left his bag, including his cellphone, at the overnight campsite and continued toward the nearby snow line — a higher, more dangerous section of the trail – despite deteriorating weather.

Hagai, an Israeli hiker who encountered Samuel on the trail, said the conditions were tougher than usual and that he feared Samuel may be stranded and in urgent need of rescue.

Illustrative: Hikers move across a ridge at Triund, a popular hiking destination near Dharamshala, India, on September 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

When Vengrinovich failed to return to the campsite or make contact with friends, alarmed travelers notified local authorities and the Foreign Ministry. The Israeli embassy in India has since been coordinating with police and rescue officials in the region.

Over the weekend, a number of Israeli backpackers joined the search, along with Chabad of Dharamshala and Magnus International Search & Rescue, a private Israeli firm specializing in emergency response.

Vlad Vengrinovich, the father of the missing hiker, who did not have travel insurance, has launched an online fundraising campaign to help cover search and rescue expenses, including a potential helicopter operation.

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