The last text message a Minnesota man sent to his wife during a hike he never came back alive from revealed that he ‘was more exhausted than expected’.
Grant Gardner, who went missing in late July while hiking Wyoming‘s Bighorn Mountains, was found dead on August 26 near the top of Cloud Peak, the highest summit in Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains.
The experienced, 38-year-old hiker had set off on a three day trek through the area that was supposed to end with him reaching the 13,171-foot peak.
He made contact with his wife, Lauren Gardner, on the evening of July 29, letting her know he’d made it to the summit. That was when he told her he ‘was more exhausted than expected’.
He failed to return home and a sprawling search operation began after his vehicle was found still parked near the West Ten Sleep trailhead.
Starting on August 1, search and rescue teams combed the area using aircraft and ground personnel, but found no signs of the missing hiker for weeks.
The search was officially suspended on August 21 due to a lack of leads.
That changed on the evening of August 26, when a professional climbing team from North Carolina ‘noticed a slight reflection a few hundred feet above them underneath a ledge,’ according to the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office.
Grant Gardner, who was missing since late July, was found dead on August 27 in the Cloud Peak Wilderness after a climbing team noticed a slight reflection under a ledge
Gardner is pictured with his wife, Lauren Gardner, who is also the mother to his two children, aged 13 and 11. He sent a harrowing text to her on July 29 that he ‘was more exhausted than expected’
The hikers, also attempting to summit Cloud Peak, were convinced that what they were seeing was a backpack.
They did not go up to see what it was because it was already getting dark when they made the discovery.
After they notified the sheriff’s office, authorities reached the peak via helicopter once daylight broke on August 27.
Once on site, they located Gardner’s remains near the suspected backpack. Authorities said he was wearing clothing that ‘very closely matched the terrain,’ making him nearly impossible to detect during earlier searches.
Gardner is a father to two children, aged 13 and 11, Cowboy State Daily reported.
‘It’s all definitely surreal,’ his wife Lauren Gardner told the outlet while the search was still active. ‘And I’m in shock, I think, and trying to stay strong for the kids. This has never happened in all the years he’s gone out. He knows what he’s doing and has the skills. I’m just hoping right now.’
Gardner’s body was found in one of two primary search areas previously identified by rescue crews, according to the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff’s office described the recovery as ‘difficult and dangerous,’ and noted that the area had already been searched ‘by air and other means’.
When Gardner failed to return home a sprawling search operation began. Helicopters and ground teams combed through the area for weeks
Lauren Gardner described the last month as ‘the most excruciating’ time of her life and thanked the search and rescue teams who ‘tirelessly’ looked for her husband
The Big Horn County Coroner’s Office has yet to determine the official cause and manner of Gardner’s death.
However, Big Horn County Police Sheriff Ken Blackburn said investigators believe he ‘succumbed to a tragic accident as we all have surmised.’
Authorities credited the climbing team for spotting the reflection and halting their plans to assist in the search.
‘Special thanks to a spectacular professional group of technical climbers who were in exactly the right spot, at the right moment, with the right light,’ the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
‘Their decision to stay put gave SAR teams the chance they needed to bring closure to Gardner’s family.’
Lauren Gardner also thanked the search and rescue teams who ‘tirelessly’ looked for her husband.
‘Our hearts are shattered. This has been the longest month on the most excruciating roller coaster,’ she said.
A GoFundMe page has been organized to support Gardner’s family.
‘Funds raised will all go directly to the family. Funds will be used for any needs that arise for Lauren and her kids,’ the fundraising page reads.
It has raised more than $66,000 toward a $100,000 goal as of September 1.
