An extensive rescue mission is on in the rugged mountains of Wyoming for a Minnesotan who did not return from his hike as scheduled, officials said.
Grant Ross Gardner, 38, of Lakeville had plans for a three-day solo trek in the Cloud Peak Wilderness area and informed his wife on July 29 that he had reached the 13,000-foot summit, according to the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office.
When Gardner failed to wrap up his hike on Aug. 1 as planned, a search and rescue mission was launched and was continuing Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Office said.
“It should be noted conditions are extreme and very challenging,” read a statement from Sheriff Ken Blackburn. “At least two rescuers have suffered medical conditions and have had to receive medical care.”
In addition to high altitude and terrain challenges, the sheriff said, “difficult weather patterns including winds, thunder and lightning storms have made search efforts difficult at various times of the day.”
Gardner’s wife posted on Facebook that their 13-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter are holding up as well as can be expected as the search for father stretches into a second week.
“They are in okay spirits as they are so innocent,” Lauren Gardner wrote. “They believe the team will find and bring him home any minute.
In an interview with the Cowboy State Daily in Cheyenne, Lauren Gardner said her husband does “solo hikes, and he’s been hiking for over a decade. ... He’s used to this stuff, and he’s very detail-oriented.”
