Scout leader killed on Alpine trip

A 21-year-old Scout leader was at his "absolute happiest" when he set off on a walk in Liechtenstein which ended in a 1,000ft fall down a ravine, his mother said today.

Thomas Moore, 21, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, went missing after he split from his group during the two-week expedition, to do some walking on his own.

His body was found by search teams two days later, on Monday - only hours after his parents arrived in Liechtenstein.

Speaking from her home in Stevenage today, just after flying back, his distraught mother Diane Moore, 48, paid tribute to her son.

She said Tom had sent a text to say his last walk was the one thing left he wanted to do in the country.

She said: "The last text I had from him said, 'one more walk and then I will have done everything I wanted to do'.

"It was the sort of thing he absolutely loved to do.

"We know right up until a minute or so before he died he was probably at his absolute happiest.

"We feel that those last two weeks of his life were probably absolutely fantastic and he was really happy."

Mrs Moore said Tom had been on the two-week trip since July 27 and was due to return on Saturday.

She was contacted after her son did not appear to meet his colleagues.

She said: "They explained that he had not turned up at the rendezvous to get the train back.

"At that point I knew my son was dead. I just knew."

She said she and husband Pete, 51, who both work at a local hospital, had flown out to Liechtenstein on Monday shortly before Tom's body was found.

They returned today, the same day their son's body is being flown back.

Mrs Moore said Tom had been found at the bottom of a ravine, after apparently falling 1,000ft to his death.

She said they were not sure what had happened but it was possible the weather had turned on the 21-year-old.

Speaking for her distressed family - husband Pete, son Andrew, 20, and daughter Maxine, 16 - she said: "He had fallen from a huge height. It looks as if he probably died straight away. That's some sort of comfort to us in some way.

"Our biggest fear was that he was lying there wondering why nobody had come to find him.

"We don't feel there's anybody to blame except that perhaps Tom made some sort of mistake. It was just a dreadful dreadful accident."

Tom had been a member of the scouting movement since he was six, joining as a Beaver and working up the ranks to become a Queen's Scout.

He was deputy head boy at Barclay School in Stevenage, before going on to study environmental science at the University of East Anglia in Norwich.

His proud mum said he was currently on a year out, working as an energy efficiency officer at Newham Council.

She said he was passionate about environmental issues and keen at keeping himself fit.

She added: "He was absolutely outgoing, he was always looking for a challenge. He achieved everything he wanted to achieve.

"Tom would do anything for anybody. He was one of those people who would talk to anybody. He was a really great kid.

"He was passionate about green issues and stood for the Green Party in the local elections in May. He ultimately wanted to be an MP for the Green Party.

"He had already booked to go to Russia and Mongolia next year on a scouts project to help street urchins.

"A huge part of Tom's life was scouting and his life would not have been what it was without the scouts.

"We're finding it very hard to accept that we will never see him again, it's going to take a very very long time."

Mrs Moore said funeral arrangements were being made but a date had not yet been set.

Today a Scout Association spokesman said the assistant explorer scout leader had travelled to Liechtenstein on an expedition organised by Hertfordshire Scouts.

Tom had informed others he was going to walk some local ridges, taking a day sack, some money and his passport with him.

When he did not return concerned colleagues raised the alarm, sparking the hunt.

The spokesman said: "Tom's close relatives were informed of his disappearance on Saturday afternoon. They flew to Liechtenstein while the search continued. Tom was found by search teams on Monday.

"The rest of the Hertfordshire expedition members and leadership team have now arrived home in the UK.

"Our thoughts are with Tom's family at this sad time."

Professor Jacquie Burgess, head of the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia, said: "We are all shocked and distressed by the news of Tom's death and our thoughts are with his parents, family and friends at this dreadful time.

"Tom was a very bright, enthusiastic and committed student who was doing very well in his degree, with a passion and flair for fieldwork.

"He was due to return for his final undergraduate year next month.

"All members of the School of Environmental Sciences, staff and students, will be deeply saddened by his tragic death.

"He will be greatly missed by all who knew him."