TCSAR Recovers Body of Missing Thru-Hiker in the Tetons

For immediate release

Media contact: Teton County Sheriff Matt Carr, (307) 733-4052, mcarr@tetonsheriff.org

Jackson, Wyo. — At approximately 8:20 a.m. on Wednesday, July 29, Teton County Search & Rescue located a hiker who’d been reported missing for nearly a week on the remote trail system between Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. 

TCSAR is saddened to report that the hiker, a 28-year-old male from Australia, was found deceased near an area known as the Wigwams on the west slope of the Tetons in Teton County, Wyo. Evidence suggests that he may have fallen from a steep, high-altitude ridgeline that separates Grand Teton National Park and the Jedediah Smith Wilderness. 

The TCSAR helicopter during the operation on July 29, 2026. Photo: Teton County Search & Rescue

The following information was provided by rescue officials from Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, which conducted the initial investigation:

The man had been attempting a thru-hike of the Continental Divide Trail, starting in Canada earlier this summer. He had been tracking his progress via a Garmin satellite device and giving regular updates to his family in Australia. His family described him as healthy with the ability to travel 25-30 miles a day. 

On July 19, the hiker posted an update from a location near Old Faithful in Yellowstone. He described his upcoming itinerary in the Tetons, Gros Ventre Wilderness, the Wind River Range, and Divide Basin. 

On July 23, the family received another Garmin check-in but it did not include coordinates or a message. During this same period, the family received a video via Facebook Messenger that they believe placed him in the Tetons. The family received no further communication, which they indicated was outside the man’s regular pattern.

On July 27, the family contacted officials from Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Park officials were able to determine that the Garmin tracking points on July 23 placed the hiker near the Wigwams inside Teton County. The parks then transferred the investigation and subsequent operations to Teton County Search & Rescue, which has jurisdiction for SAR operations outside of the two national parks. 

On the morning of July 29, TCSAR assembled a helicopter short-haul team and flew to the hiker’s last presumed point. From the air, the team spotted a bright orange backpack which they believed belonged to the missing hiker. They then found the subject below the ridge south of North Wigwam Peak and collected the body for heli transport back to TCSAR headquarters in Jackson. From there, the team transferred the subject to the Teton County Coroner’s Office.

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.

TCSAR's 2024 End-of-Year Review and Rescue Report Available Now

Teton County Search & Rescue had one of its most eventful years ever in 2024. That’s according to the newly released 2024 End-of-Year Review and Rescue Report, which is published twice a year by Teton County Search & Rescue Foundation. The End-of-Year Rescue Report is notable because it documents the past six months of rescues, as well as a year’s worth of data about rescue demographics.

Cover image by Joey Sackett.

The 32-page report shows that with 130 calls for service between Dec. 1, 2023 and Nov. 30, 2024, TCSAR had its second highest call volume in the team’s 31-year history. Many of these calls were due to the arrival, in October 2023, of TCSAR’s new helicopter, which was called 31 times to conduct missions with the Jenny Lake Rangers in Grand Teton National Park. 

In 2024, some of the most common locations for rescues included: Togwotee Pass; Caribou-Targhee National Forest on the west side of the Tetons; the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort backcountry; and the Gros Ventre Mountains. Those ages 16-30 issued the most rescue calls, with 38 percent, while local and regional backcountry users accounted for 43 percent of all calls.

In 2024, TCSAR’s helicopter was used more than 60 times. Photo: TCSAR

The report shows that the TCSAR’s 38 volunteers dedicated a collective 10,827 hours back to the community in the form of rescues, training, and community events.

TCSAR Chief Advisor Cody Lockhart explains that the volunteers accomplish what they do thanks to an unwavering commitment to teamwork.

“Within our Team, there is a culture of finding where you can be the most helpful and then proudly filling that role,” Lockhart writes in the report’s Intro Letter. “It is not about being a hero or an all-star—it is about being the best teammate possible. It is not about getting credit for the job—it is about making sure the job gets done.”

Other key takeaways from the report include:

• The TCSAR helicopter program, in its first year of operation, completed more than 60 missions, demonstrating how invaluable this tool has become during a time when backcountry recreation shows no signs of slowing down.

• The report includes 21 rescue summaries from the summer in Grand Teton National Park, during which Jenny Lake Rangers executed rescue missions with TCSAR’s helicopter and pilot. These summaries are intended to help educate the public about the partnership between the Jenny Lake Rangers and TCSAR, and how the county’s heli resource is being used.

• TCSAR will take on a new class of volunteers in 2025.

• A strategic plan outlining the goals and initiatives for TCSAR and the Foundation, including hosting the International Commission for Alpine Rescue in October 2025, and prioritizing programming from the Foundation’s education and outreach efforts through Backcountry Zero.

Rescue Reports are free and can be found at a number of participating businesses in Jackson Hole. If you’d like to be on our mailing list, please send an email to info@tetoncountysar.org. Digital versions are available for download at the TCSAR website.

GTNP and TCSAR Partner for Avalanche Rescue in the Tetons

MOOSE, Wyo.— On Sunday afternoon, February 4, Grand Teton National Park rangers requested helicopter assistance from Teton County Search & Rescue (TCSAR) to respond to an injured skier on Prospectors Mountain inside the park. The skier, a 29-year-old local woman, along with four men were near the top of the Banana Couloir at 10,800 feet when they triggered and were caught by an avalanche. Three in the group were able to self-arrest, while one of the men was carried 500 feet and the woman was carried by the snow slide approximately 1,500 vertical feet. Neither skier was fully buried, however, the woman sustained serious injuries.

The upper reaches of the Banana Couloir in GTNP. Photo: TCSAR

TCSAR prepared the helicopter with three rescue volunteers and a pilot. The crew flew up into the Banana, a prominent couloir on the east face of Prospectors Mountain. The volunteers were able to short-haul the injured skier off the mountain and fly her to a waiting National Park Service ambulance at Windy Point Turnout. The rest of the party were able to ski out on their own. 

An avalanche on February 4, 2024, caught and carried five skiers, one of whom was swept 1,500 vertical feet down the mountain. Photo: TCSAR

Short-haul is a rescue method where a patient and rescuer are secured to a fix rope that is connected to the belly of the helicopter for a short flight out of the backcountry. It is often used in steep terrain where landing the helicopter is not an option. 

With new snow falling on the Tetons, backcountry users are being reminded to read the daily avalanche forecast at the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center. TCSAR and Grand Teton were appreciative of the collaborative effort to bring this incident to a close.