The world will be a much duller place without Keaton...
HEARTBROKEN FRIENDS PAY TRIBUTE TO BACKPACKER WHO DIED IN ALPS
HEARTBROKEN friends of a backpacker who died in the Italian Alps have paid tribute to him.
Keaton Emery never returned from a hike in the mountains near Lake Como, where he was doing volunteer work at a sailing school.
Search-and-rescue teams spent three days looking for the former pupil of Cheadle Hulme School in Stockport after he went missing on Thursday, September 7.
They eventually recovered a body from a crag at the bottom of a 60ft drop close to the summit of the 5,577ft Legnoncino mountain on Sunday.
The 23-year-old had hoped to complete his around the world journey without ever taking a plane flight. Armed only with a backpack and a hammock he set off from his home in Macclesfield on his bike in March and cycled to Plymouth where he caught a ferry to France. He then cycled to Spain and hitchhiked to Italy taking buses and trains along the way.
Speaking on what would have been Keaton’s 24th birthday his best friend Jill Paton said she is devastated at the loss.
Describing him as a ‘true philosopher’ she said Keaton gave her the confidence to love herself and had ‘an incredible heart filled with kindness.’
“He never thought twice about offering his help to anyone, stranger or friend,” she said. “The world is a much duller place without Keaton.”
Jill, from Denton, said Keaton had always dreamed of travelling.
“He taught us all a lesson in following your dreams.”
Keaton studied politics and economics at Nottingham University. He also worked at Vanilla In Allseasons caterers, based in Congleton, Cheshire. A capable outdoorsman, he loved hiking, sailing, camping, and rock-climbing.
He had been working at the Fuori de Vela sailing school, in Dorio, northern Italy, when he went missing.
Friend Alex Gleave said Keaton had a ‘hunger for adventure.’
In a moving tribute she wrote: “I am so so sad that I will not make more hilarious memories with you but I am so so happy that you shared your views with me and that I can make memories in your honour.”
His close friend Will Roylance added: “He was a brother to me and he always will be. I didn’t get to tell him enough how he made my life better. I loved him.”