Overview
- Teton County Search and Rescue located Standish’s bright orange backpack from a helicopter and recovered his body on July 29 in the Wigwams, a rugged ridge area on the west slope of the Tetons.
- Authorities say physical evidence indicates Standish, 28, likely fell from a high, exposed ridgeline that separates Grand Teton National Park and the Jedediah Smith Wilderness and the Teton County Coroner’s Office has the remains for investigation.
- Standish had been on a southbound attempt of the roughly 3,100‑mile Continental Divide Trail and had given family route updates by Garmin on July 19, with a July 23 check‑in that lacked coordinates and included a video believed to show him in the Tetons.
- Friends and the trail community have opened a fundraiser to cover repatriation and funeral costs, and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to Standish’s family.
- Long‑distance mountain routes like the CDT feature steep, exposed ridgelines and spotty satellite location fixes, which can make timely location and helicopter recovery difficult and costly for families and rescuers.