Hiker's haunting last message before being found dead in the wilderness

Hiker's haunting last message before being found dead in the wilderness Will's heartbroken family have paid a touching tribute to the avid hiker, who was on his second attempt of the gruelling 3,100 mile trail, telling him to 'dance with the stars' A hiker sent a haunting message a week before tragically passing away while trying to complete a gruelling 3,100-mile trail. Will Standish, 28, was found dead in a remote area of Wyoming last Wednesday (July 29), part-way through his attempt to complete the Continental Divide Trail, a 3,100-mile route from Mexico to Canada. Search and rescue teams located the avid outdoorsman from Melbourne nearly a week after he last sent a message to his family. Will gave his family regular updates on his plans via a Garmin satellite device, telling them on July 19 his next planned movements. Four days later, he sent a check-in without co-ordinates or a message, and a video which showed he was in the Tetons, a mountain range just south of Yellowstone National Park in the northern United States. This was the last message his family received. On July 27, his family contacted search and rescue teams, who sadly spotted Will’s bright orange backpack from a helicopter, and later found his body two days later. His heartbroken family paid tribute to the 28-year-old, telling Melbourne newspaper The Age : “Our beautiful Will was a treasure. He was funny, cheeky, adorable, smart and kind. Unapologetically himself.” After thanking the efforts of search and rescue teams, they added: “Finally, a note from us to our Will. We love you. We will carry you with us forever. “Thank you for filling our lives with a love so deep, so full of colour and warmth. “Rest in eternal sunshine. Dance with the stars.” Friend Katie Jackson added: “Will was a funny, adventurous spirit that brought laughter to every situation. To be around him was to be infused with his unbridled joy for every aspect of life. “His sudden passing has left his family to navigate a painful loss that no family is ever truly prepared for.” Ms Jackson has now launched a fundraiser so Will’s family can repatriate his body to ‘give him the loving farewell he deserves’. It’s thought Will passed away after falling from a steep ridgeline, Teton County search and rescue service (TCSAR) said in a statement: “TCSAR is saddened to report that the hiker, a 28-year-old male from Australia, was found deceased near an area known as the Wigwams on the west slope of the Tetons in Teton County, Wyoming. “Evidence suggests that he may have fallen from a steep, high-altitude ridgeline that separates Grand Teton National Park and the Jedediah Smith Wilderness.” This was Will’s second attempt to complete the Continental Divide Trail. In 2024, a foot injury ended his hopes of hiking the epic route northwards. He started his new attempt in June, walking southwards from Canada. He said he had wanted to live and work in South America once he completed his challenge.