A tragedy took place near Yellowstone National Park last week.
Fox News reports that a father of four was found dead outside of the park.
The individual has been identified as Craig Clouatre, a 40-year-old man from Livingston, Montana.
What happened?
Last Wednesday morning, Clouatre and a friend of his went for a hike. According to the Park County Sheriff’s office, at one point, the pair decided to split up, and this would be the last time that Clouatre was ever seen alive.
Later that day, Clouatre’s friend returned to their vehicle, but Clouatre never did. So, his friend called the sheriff’s office, which launched a widespread search.
The search went on for over 24 hours, and it took place in the region of Absaroka Mountains’ Six Mile Creek. Teams of people combed through the area on foot and horseback, and helicopter search crews also participated.
It was two days later, on Friday morning, that Clouatre was found dead. Accordingly, to the sheriff’s office, it appeared that Clouatre was attacked by a grizzly bear and that this was the cause of his death.
“It appears he had an encounter with a grizzly and unfortunately did not survive,” Park County Sheriff Brad Bichler said.
“Broken”
There are two things that we know about Clouatre: one, based on his social media accounts, he enjoyed hiking and being outdoors; and, two, he was part of a family that included a wife and four children – one boy and three girls.
On Saturday, Clouatre’s wife, Jamie Clouatre, released a statement on her husband’s passing.
“To say we are broken is an understatement,” Jamie Clouatre wrote. “The support in this community is incredible and I know it comes from Craig…who he was, a joy, a truly kind, good, GOOD man. There is no one else like him in the entire world.”
As of Friday morning, the sheriff’s office was working to return Clouatre’s remains to his family.