The game's afoot as armchair detectives mark Sherlock Holmes Day

SCHATTENHALB, Switzerland (AP) — From 221B Baker Street in central London to a cliffside waterfall in the Swiss Alps, generations of armchair detectives are celebrating International Sherlock Holmes Day on Friday.

Fans will mark Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 's birthday in tribute to the author and his most famous character whose adventures continue to shape popular culture around the world.

The celebrations began earlier this month when — sporting Victorian capes, deerstalker hats and period gowns — enthusiasts from the Sherlock Holmes Society of London traveled to Switzerland 's Reichenbach Falls to reenact one of literature's most famous fictional death scenes.

The fateful confrontation between Sherlock Holmes and his nemesis Professor James Moriarty shocked readers of “The Final Problem” and appeared to bring one of literature’s most beloved detectives to an end.

In the original 1893 story, Holmes disappears over the edge of the falls with Moriarty, leaving his sidekick, Dr. John Watson, to discover a farewell letter near the water. Conan Doyle — who was born on May 22, 1859 — intended the scene to permanently kill off Holmes because he feared the detective stories were overshadowing what he considered his more serious historical writing.

At the time, readers canceled magazine subscriptions, wore black armbands in mourning and protested against Holmes’ death. A decade later, Conan Doyle reversed the decision and brought Holmes back in “The Adventure of the Empty House,” revealing that the detective had staged his death and survived the falls.

The Sherlock Holmes stories helped establish many of the conventions of modern detective fiction. Between 1887 and 1927, Conan Doyle wrote four Holmes novels and 56 short stories, introducing techniques such as forensic deduction, close observation and logical analysis that later became standard elements of crime fiction.

The stories have since been adapted for the stage, screen and in comic books around the world, with Jeremy Brett, Basil Rathbone, Christopher Lee, Robert Downey Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch starring in portrayals.

British actor Hero Fiennes Tiffin stars in the latest iteration in Amazon Prime’s new prequel series “Young Sherlock,” created by Guy Ritchie and released earlier this year. A second season is in the works.

At 221B Baker Street, the Sherlock Holmes Museum has drawn visitors since it opened in 1990 with curiosities including Holmes' violin and chemistry set, as well as a revolver resting inside a hollowed-out book.

Holmes, according to the stories, lived at the Georgian townhouse between 1881 and 1904 and shared the residence with Watson. But 221B didn’t actually exist when Conan Doyle was writing: Baker Street numbers didn’t reach that high at the time.

The museum, physically located between 237 and 241, had to be granted special permission by Westminster City Council to bear the renowned number.

“It has to be the most famous address in the world, I would say,” tour guide Paul Leharne said. “No matter what reincarnation Sherlock Holmes is going to take, he’s always going to be living at 221B Baker Street.”

With theatrical poses, exaggerated acting and black cloaks billowing in the mountain spray, members of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London on May 3 reenacted the struggle between Holmes and Moriarty at Reichenbach Falls.

Founded in 1951, the society brings together readers, collectors, academics and enthusiasts of Conan Doyle’s work. The trip to the Reichenbach Falls followed part of the route described in “The Final Problem.” Members traveled through Switzerland in vintage buses before boarding a cog railway that climbs steeply toward the waterfall.

The Reichenbach Falls became one of the most famous locations in detective fiction after Conan Doyle visited the area during an 1893 trip.

Philip Porter, an author and publisher who starred as Sherlock Holmes in the society's reproduction, said the setting itself remains central to the stories’ appeal.

“It’s a pilgrimage,” he said. “It’s a very dramatic setting: The sound, the backdrop, the music behind us of the cascading water.”

Peter Horrocks, who played Moriarty, said the return to normal life after spending several days in a villain's costume can be tough. “It’s a strange feeling, getting out of these clothes,” he said. “You do start to inhabit the character that you’re playing after a while.”

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Fielder reported from London.

From left: Robert Hutton, as Colonel Valentine Walter, Rick Grandia as Robert Carruthers and Peter Horrocks, as Professor Moriarty, during an event recreating the fateful confrontation between Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty by the members of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London, at the Reichenbach Falls, Switzerland, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Niccolo Lupone, Pool)

Members of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London recreate the fateful confrontation between Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls, Switzerland, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Niccolo Lupone, Pool)

Martin Iggland, left, as Melchior Anderegg and Philip Porter, as, Sherlock Holmes during an event recreating the fateful confrontation between Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty by the members of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London, at the Reichenbach Falls, Switzerland, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Niccolo Lupone, Pool)

From left: Peter Horrocks, as Professor Moriarty, Philip Porter as Sherlock Holmes. and Charles Miller, as Doctor Watson, during an event recreating the fateful confrontation between Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty by the members of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London, at the Reichenbach Falls, Switzerland, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Niccolo Lupone, Pool)

Philip Porter, playing Sherlock Holmes, looking through a magnifying glass during an event recreating the fateful confrontation between Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty by the members of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London, at the Reichenbach Falls, Switzerland, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Niccolo Lupone, Pool)

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — It was a classic husband's phone call. He was done for the day and would stop at the market before coming home. But he was returning from war, not work.

Fahmy al-Fateh never made it home. His wife, Azaher Abdallah, started calling friends and family, then turned to his colleagues in Sudan 's army. Her husband was last seen leaving a military base in the capital, Khartoum, on a motorcycle. That was over a year ago.

Now the couple's 3-year-old son shouts at every passing motorcycle, thinking it's his father, Abdallah said.

“He was the most precious thing in my life," she said, sobbing and burying her face in her hands. “I would feel more at peace if I knew something. It’s better than not knowing what happened to him, whether he's alive or dead.”

Her husband is one of more than 8,000 people who have gone missing during Sudan's three years of war, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The conflict has torn families apart. People have been separated while fleeing, or gone missing during fighting. Others are quietly detained, leaving friends and relatives in agony trying to learn their fate.

Many of those missing in Khartoum state are thought to be in unmarked graves where tens of thousands of bodies have been found since Sudan's army retook the capital last year from paramilitary fighters.

It was often too dangerous to bury bodies in cemeteries while fighting raged. People dug graves wherever they could.

Driving through the city last month, Associated Press reporters saw soccer fields and cemeteries overflowing with the dead. Mounds of dirt beside a defunct gas station had makeshift signs with names and dates, but many were unmarked.

A member of the military media accompanied the AP during the visit, including during interviews. The AP retains full editorial control of its content.

The ICRC said it had resolved over 1,000 cases of the missing but would not say how many were alive or dead.

Abdallah was sleeping when her husband left the house before sunrise last January. Al-Fateh, a 38-year-old farmer and merchant, had joined Sudan's army when the war began. That day, he was helping to retake Khartoum from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Since then, the 30-year-old Abdallah has combed the city, visited hospital morgues and asked the army for help. Her husband's unit said they'd try to find him. If she didn't hear anything, they said, consider him missing.

At home on the outskirts of Khartoum, she scrolls through photos of him in uniform, still believing that one day he'll return.

“That is what my heart tells me," she said.

Psychologists say the uncertainty surrounding missing loved ones can cause years of profound distress.

“Families of missing persons experience additional layers of vulnerabilities due to hostilities, displacement and ambiguous loss,” said Nathalie Nyamukeba, a psychologist with the ICRC.

Some families in Sudan say the only way to deal with it is to keep searching.

Sulafa Mustafa's son went missing two years ago. A shy boy, 18-year-old Suleiman Abdalsid went to a friend’s house near Khartoum and never came home.

His mother tirelessly traveled through the streets, even as the sounds of shelling echoed, going door to door. She has visited hospitals and prisons, and showed countless strangers his photo.

She has even rented a microphone to shout his name.

“I haven’t lost faith in finding you,” she said, and covered her face with her hands.

Finding people alive or dead is challenging in Sudan, especially as the war continues. Labs that could have been used for DNA testing have been destroyed, and few forensic specialists remain.

In Khartoum state, authorities have moved nearly 30,000 bodies — of some 50,000 — that had been hastily buried near houses, in sports fields or by the road when the RSF controlled the area. Their work continues.

About 10% of bodies that have been reburied are unidentified.

Hisham Zienalabdien, director general of the forensic medicine department for Khartoum state, said they are saving DNA from unidentified bodies in hopes of one day being able to match it with relatives.

For families who have found loved ones but can't properly bury them, there is a different kind of pain.

Abubakar Alswai waited more than a year to move his 73-year-old brother, Mohamed, from where he had been buried in front of his house into a public cemetery.

The RSF had killed Mohamed but waited three weeks before granting a neighbor permission to bury his bullet-hit and decomposing remains. In Islamic tradition, largely followed in Sudan, funerals take place as quickly as possible, ideally within 24 hours.

Alswai wiped tears from his cheeks as he watched grave diggers remove his brother's remains. At least now Mohamed will get the dignified burial he deserves, he said, and his family will have some peace.

“What happened had left a mark on my heart," he said.

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A shirt belonging to Suleiman Abdelsaid, who went missing in 2024 at age 18, is displayed on a bed at his family home in Omdurman, Sudan, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Azaher Abdallah, who has been searching for her husband, Fahani Al Fateh, for over a year, becomes emotional during an interview with The Associated Press in Omdurman, Sudan, Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Sulafa Mustafa shows a photograph of her missing son, Suleiman Abdelsaid, in Omdurman, Sudan, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

A computer screen displays a record of an unidentified body in the missing persons database at Al Nao Hospital in Omdurman, Sudan, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Staff from Sudan's Forensic Medicine Corporation exhume the body of Mohammed Alsawi, 73, who was killed in 2023 by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, in Omdurman, Sudan, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)