A hiking death roils a fashion empire and the heirs to a fortune

The rock-strewn path hugs the jagged peaks of the Montserrat mountains, winding along a deep ravine for much of the way.

- Cristina Gallardo & Jenny Strasburg

The trail ascends from the parking lot toward a cliff-side monastery that is a popular destination for pilgrims and day-trippers.

Isak Andic, a fashion billionaire and experienced hiker, plunged more than 300 feet to his death while trekking on this path with his son, Jonathan, almost a year ago. The two men started out early on a brisk December morning and were on their way back when Isak fell.

Mango, the Spanish retailer that Isak built into a global brand, announced its founder's “unexpected death” in a news release the same day, calling it an accident. Police, who responded to the remote scene by helicopter, also called it a likely accident.

Questions have swirled around the incident since March when the local judge overseeing the investigation reopened the probe to give police more time to gather evidence. The mystery has deepened this month as Spanish newspapers have splashed stories on their pages, saying police are treating Jonathan as an “investigado,” or person under investigation.

In response, Catalonia’s High Court issued a statement saying the probe is still active andit hasn’treached any conclusions. “The investigation is being handled by the police. It remains secret, and procedur-ally, no specific person has been or is being targeted at this time,” the court said.

An Andic family spokesman said Jonathan hasn't been notified of being under investigation. He added that the family iscooperating with the investigation and confident that Jonathan—the only person on the hike with Isak that day—will be cleared.

Jonathan handed his cellphone to the police at their request in September, and has answered questions from investigators on several occasions, the spokesman said. Isak’s other family members have also been questioned by the police, he added.

“They arealso confident that this processwill be concluded as soonas possible and that Jonathan Andic’s innocence will be proven,” the family spokesman said.