A man who had embarked on a three-day hike in Wyoming was found dead after being missing for about a month, officials said.
A professional climbing team descending from a mountain peak in Bighorn National Forest on Tuesday noticed a slight reflection that they identified as a backpack underneath a ledge.
The Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office deployed a team the next day and found the body of the hiker, Grant Gardner, 38, who had been missing for a month, near the backpack.
Mr. Gardner of Minnesota had planned a hike in Bighorn National Forest, in the northern part of the state, to climb Cloud Peak, its highest peak with an elevation of greater than 13,000 feet.
He was last in contact with his wife at approximately 7 p.m. on July 29 to tell her that he had reached the summit, according to the sheriff’s office. He wrote in a text that the climb had been more taxing than he had expected and that he was fatigued.
The sheriff’s office was notified three days later that Mr. Gardner had not returned, and it began a search and rescue operation.
The search pulled resources from six counties, the Wyoming Army National Guard and the U.S. Forest Service, in addition to dog trackers, drones and private pilots to scour the terrain for Mr. Gardner.
Sheriff Ken Blackburn of Big Horn County, Wyo., said in a statement on Aug. 5 that Mr. Gardner’s late-day summit was “concerning due to the lack of visible trails through cliffs, timber line, boulder fields, and other hazards that had to be navigated after dark before reaching clear trails and safe terrain.”
After 20 days of fruitless searching, the sheriff’s office called off the operation, citing weather conditions and a lack of personnel and resources. Sheriff Blackburn said that the “heartbreaking and difficult decision” was made in consultation with family members.
“With weather conditions and other factors updated in our search models, we have to face the reality that the most optimistic survival odds have run out,” he said in an Aug. 20 statement.
A week later, members of the professional climbing team from North Carolina found the body while descending the same peak as Mr. Gardner had a month prior.
His body was recovered and transferred on Wednesday to the Big Horn County Coroner’s Office, where a cause of death will be investigated. Bill Brenner, the chief deputy coroner, said that the office was awaiting a toxicology report and expected to have more details in approximately two weeks.
Sheriff Blackburn said that he believed Mr. Gardner “succumbed to a tragic accident as we all have surmised.”
“While it’s not the outcome we hoped for, we are hopeful this will provide much needed peace and closure to the family,” he said.
Ashley Ahn covers breaking news for The Times from New York.
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