TETON COUNTY, Wyoming (KIFI) – A search for a missing hiker in the Teton backcountry has ended after rescue crews found a 28-year-old Australian man dead Wednesday morning.
Teton County Search and Rescue (TCSAR) says crews located the hiker at approximately 8:20 a.m. on July 29 near an area known as the Wigwams on the west slope of the Tetons.
Teton County Search and Rescue says evidence suggests the hiker may have fallen from a steep, high-altitude ridgeline separating Grand Teton National Park and the Jedediah Smith Wilderness.
The man had been attempting a thru-hike of the Continental Divide Trail, which stretches from Canada to Mexico. He had been regularly communicating with family members in Australia using a Garmin satellite device.
On July 23, the family received a Garmin check-in without coordinates or a message, along with a video they believed placed him in the Teton area. After they stopped receiving communication, they contacted park officials on Monday.
Officials from Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks reviewed the hiker’s last known tracking information and determined the location was within Teton County. The search was then transferred to Teton County Search and Rescue, which handles search and rescue operations outside the national parks.
On Wednesday morning, search and rescue crews assembled a helicopter short-haul team and flew to the hiker’s last known location. Crews spotted a bright orange backpack from the air and located the hiker below a ridge south of North Wigwam Peak.
His body was recovered and transported to TCSAR headquarters in Jackson before being transferred to the Teton County Coroner’s Office.
TCSAR expressed condolences to the hiker’s family and friends and thanked the federal agencies that assisted with the search and recovery effort.
