An Australian hiker was found dead in a remote stretch between two Wyoming national parks nearly a week after losing contact with his family, according to authorities.
The body of William Standish, 28, was discovered by rescuers on Wednesday morning in the Wigwams, a series of rocky peaks on the west slope of the Teton mountain range, the Teton County Coroner confirmed to The Post.
Standish, of Australia, had been attempting a thru-hike of the Continental Divide Trail between the Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks when he vanished after contacting his family last Thursday, according to Teton County Search and Rescue.
Evidence suggests the hiker may have plummeted from a steep, high-altitude ridgeline that separates Grand Teton National Park and the Jedediah Smith Wilderness, officials said.
Standish, who began the trek in Canada, regularly updated his family through a Garmin satellite device, officials from both national parks told local authorities.
On July 19, he informed his family near Old Faithful that he planned to continue his travels through the rugged terrain of the Tetons, the Gros Ventre Wilderness, the Wind River Range, and the Divide Basin.
Standish’s last contact with his family was on July 23, when they received a satellite check-in without coordinates or a message, as well as a video from Facebook Messenger that they believe placed him in the Tetons.
The hiker’s concerned family contacted park officials on Monday after not hearing from him.
On Wednesday morning, Teton County Search and Rescue flew in a helicopter to Standish’s last presumed tracking point, near the Wigwams, and spotted his bright orange backpack from the area.
Standish’s body was tragically recovered below the ridge south of the North Wigwam Peak.
The cause and manner of his death remain under investigation, the coroner said.
“TCSAR sends its sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased, and wishes to express its gratitude to the partnering federal agencies who assisted in the investigation,” officials said in a press release.
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