Missing Hiker Found Dead After Suspected Encounter With Grizzly Bear Near Yellowstone Park

A Montana hiker who went missing last week has been found dead after a suspected encounter with a grizzly bear.

Craig Clouatre, of Livingston, was reported missing at the Six Mile Creek area in Absaroka Mountains, north of Yellowstone National Park, after he went for a hike on March 23, NBC News reported.

The 40-year-old hiker was with a friend before the two got separated. The friend who returned to the car after the hike could not find Clouatre and alerted the officials about an "overdue hiker."

The officials began an extensive search with the help of search and rescue volunteers in the area. Several horse teams and overhead helicopters also joined in the search for Clouatre. The man's body was later discovered from the mountains, according to Park County Sheriff's Office.

"It is with a very heavy heart that I am writing this update. After an extensive search this morning, we have located Craig. It appears he had an encounter with a grizzly and unfortunately did not survive," Park County Sheriff Brad Bichler said in a Facebook post Friday.

The officials are working to bring Clouatre's body back to his family, Bichler added.

Clouatre grew up in Massachusetts and moved to Montana about 20 years ago. He is survived by his wife and four children. The family had met with a tragedy just two years ago when they lost their entire home in a fire, Anne Tanner, Clouatre's friend, said on a GoFundMe page.

"Anyone who has met Craig had a friend in him. He was a man full of joy and kindness. And more than anything, he loved his family," Tanner added.

"He was a joy to have as a son all the way around He was a good man, a good, hardworking family man," Clouatre's grieving father told AP.

According to reports, there are more than 700 bears in the Yellowstone region. Although fatal attacks on humans are rare, at least eight people have been killed by grizzlies since 2010.