After nearly a month of searching, Big Horn County authorities confirmed they have found the body of Grant Gardner, a hiker from Minnesota who disappeared after setting off on a hike in the Bighorn National Forest in Wyoming.

Gardner had told his wife he reached the summit of Cloud Peak, over 13,000 feet high, on July 29, but There has been no further contact since then.

The Big Horn County Sheriff's Office said the hiker's last indications placed him in an area with cliffs, rock fields, and dangerous terrain, which posed a high risk after dark.

A professional climbing team from North Carolina located a shiny object under a ledge this week that turned out to be a backpack. The next day, officials confirmed that Gardner's body was in the same location.

Difficult and Dangerous Search

Authorities stressed that the recovery was "dangerous" because it was one of the most complex areas to explore and that it had already been covered by air without previous results.

Sheriff Ken Blackburn recalled that, before the discovery, the painful decision had been made to suspend the search, considering that the chances of survival were zero after 20 days without contact.

The case was referred to the Big Horn County Coroner's Office, which will determine the cause of death, although the preliminary hypothesis points to a fatal accident during the descent.

"While it is not the result we hoped for, we are hopeful that this brings peace and comfort to the family," said the sheriff's office.

The body will be transferred to Minnesota to be delivered to the relatives.