Alpentod - Im ewigen Eis (2026)

Chief Inspector Birgit Reincke and Inspector Jonas Becker are called to a scree field near the village of Maisching, where the body of Timo Aichinger has been found. The victim had returned home from Vienna ten days earlier, after twelve years away, for his father’s funeral. He was found by teenagers Hannes Probst and Louis Grauber. Meanwhile, forensic archaeologist Dr. Marie Sonnleitner from Salzburg and her team discover the body of a woman thousands of years old on a glacier. When Korbinian Ebersbach from the forensic unit is sidelined by an injury, Sonnleitner steps in for him on the Aichinger case. Among others, the investigators question Timo’s sister, veterinarian Lisa Aichinger, who claims she has no idea why Timo left Maisching back then. Until his death, Aichinger senior ran a hotel in Maisching. Lawyer Julian Roth, the son of Mayor Friederike Roth, was friends with Timo and represented him legally because Timo and Lisa had disagreements. Lisa wanted to sell the hotel because she was deeply in debt. Sonnleitner finds ketamine in the victim’s blood, along with textile fibers that may have come from the killer. Becker suspects Lisa Aichinger of murdering not only her brother but also her father. However, there is no doubt that her father died of natural causes. According to Lisa, Timo had been taking antidepressants containing ketamine, which is confirmed by his health insurer. The hairdresser Trudi had seen Timo with Rosi Grauber a few days before his death; perhaps Rosi’s husband, Benno, was jealous. Reincke discovers that twelve years earlier, tourist Frank Wimmer from Munich had disappeared without a trace. Wimmer had been staying at the Aichingers’ hotel. While searching for a bracelet Marie lost when the body was recovered from the glacier, Marie and Jonas find Wimmer’s body. The textile fibers found under Timo’s fingernails come from Mayor Roth’s jacket. She confesses that Timo had wanted to go to the police about what happened back then. She murdered Timo to protect her son. At the time, Timo, Julian, and Wimmer had been on a mountain hike. Wimmer was injured, and Julian and Timo returned to the valley alone without helping him. The mayor had pushed Wimmer into a crevasse.