Search Intensifies for Missing Minnesota Hiker in Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains

The hunt for Grant Gardner, a Minnesota man who vanished after summiting Cloud Peak in Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains, is stretching into its third week — and crews are pulling out every tool they’ve got.

Gardner last checked in with his wife on July 29. Since then, not a word. Search operations have shifted from the West Ten Sleep Trailhead to a command center at Greybull Airport as teams spread out across the rugged Cloud Peak Wilderness.

The search effort now looks like something out of a disaster movie — only real. Crews are deploying:

• Drones with high-res cameras and heat-detection FLIR tech
• Helicopters, planes, and private pilots scanning the skies
• Cell and Bluetooth signal sniffers
• Tracking dogs, horse teams, and plenty of boots on the ground
• Support from the Wyoming National Guard, US Forest Service, and search-and-rescue units from six counties

Add to that a host of experienced volunteers who know the terrain — because in this wilderness, the Sheriff’s Office says, novices shouldn’t even think about joining in.

“The Cloud Peak Wilderness is deceptively expansive and remote,” Sheriff Ken Blackburn warns.

Snow is already dusting peaks over 10,000 feet, and search teams have combed multiple possible routes where Gardner could be — all without success so far.

Officials say Gardner “could plausibly be in several areas and routes, all of which have been extensively searched.”

If you know the terrain and plan to search, check in with the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office first at 307-568-2324. If you’re unfamiliar with the area, don’t risk it — conditions are dangerous, and the wilderness is unforgiving.

The search will continue as long as there’s hope.

With input from Sheridan Media and Oil City News.