VIENNA (AFP) - Human remains found in a cave in the Austrian Alps have been identified as those of a skier who went missing 86 years ago, police said Friday.

DNA tests confirmed that the remains were of Karl K., who never came home after going skiing alone on the Untersberg mountain near his home in Salzburg in March 1929. He was 21.

In November 2014 a geologist found bones in a cave - he thought at first they were from an animal - as well as a hobnail leather boot and bits of wooden ski and pole.

Police came across K's name after combing through old records and were able to get a match after comparing DNA with his surviving half-sister, who is well over 100, and a 99-year-old half-brother.

"The half-brother has been informed of the confirmation," police spokesman Anton Schentz told AFP. "The half-sister is however very frail and is no longer really reactive."

Police are ruling out foul play, believing that K's death was accidental.