Search for Missing Dad Called Off 2 Weeks After His Wife Said She Was ’Trying to Stay Strong’ for Their Kids

After 20 days of intensive searching involving rescue teams, helicopters, dogs, and drones in Wyoming, officials have suspended efforts to find Grant Gardner. The 38-year-old hiker and father of two from Minnesota was last heard from on July 29.

“In consultation with family members, I have made the heartbreaking and difficult decision to suspend active search and rescue operations for Mr. Gardner,” Sheriff Ken Blackburn of the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office said in a release on Wednesday, Aug. 20.

He added that search and rescue teams had “exhausted all resources.”

“With weather conditions and other factors updated in our search models,” the sheriff continued, “we have to face the reality that the most optimistic survival odds have run out.”

The news comes two weeks after Gardner’s wife, Lauren Gardner — who has been anxiously hoping for good news to share with their two children, ages 11 and 13 — expressed her continued hope that her husband might be found alive.

“I’m in shock, I think, and trying to stay strong for the kids,” Lauren told Cowboy State Daily earlier this month. “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.”

According to Lauren, Grant was an experienced outdoorsman who has “been hiking for over a decade.”

“He’s used to this stuff, and he’s very detail-oriented,” she added.

In July, Grant set out for a three-day hiking trip through the Misty Moon Lake area, planning to summit Cloud Peak before returning to his vehicle, according to the initial post from the sheriff’s office.

Lauren last heard from him on the evening of Tuesday, July 29, when he texted that he had reached the summit but that the “climb was more taxing than he expected and he was tired,” authorities said. The following day, officials were notified of an “overdue hiker in the Cloud Peak Wilderness area” and immediately launched a search. Grant’s vehicle was found at the West Ten Sleep trailhead parking lot, where he had left it at the start of his hike.

A log at the trailhead confirmed he had entered the hiking area as planned. However, search managers grew concerned when phone records showed that Grant had reached the top of the 13,000-foot mountain around 7 p.m. that Tuesday, intending to descend to lower elevations for the night.

From the start, the search was challenging. In an Aug. 4 release, the sheriff’s office reported that at least two rescuers required medical treatment.

“In addition to high altitude and terrain challenges, difficult weather patterns including winds, thunder and lightning storms have made search efforts difficult at various times of the day,” officials said.

The Cloud Peak Wilderness is “deceptively expansive, remote, and snow is starting to fall at higher elevations above 10,000 feet,” according to an update on Monday, Aug. 11. Despite these obstacles, multiple search and rescue teams dedicated days to the effort.

When announcing the suspension of the search, Blackburn acknowledged that “many team members feel like they have lost a battle by not finding Grant at this time,” but emphasized it was not for lack of effort. He expressed gratitude and pride in the teams’ hard work and shared the Gardner family’s appreciation for everyone who tried to locate Grant.

“While grieving, they are humbled, and grateful beyond words,” Blackburn said. He noted that although the teams are pausing, the search has not ended permanently.

“Our teams will rest, then begin search and recovery efforts as time and evidence allow,” the sheriff added. Citizen volunteers continue to look for clues about Grant’s disappearance “to bring peace to this family.”