Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Jul 31

Australian Hiker William Standish Found Dead After 250-Foot Fall on 3,100-Mile Wyoming Trail

Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Jul 31

Australian Hiker William Standish Found Dead After 250-Foot Fall on 3,100-Mile Wyoming Trail

Q: Why did an experienced hiker's final satellite check-in fail to send coordinates just before a fatal 300-foot fall in Wyoming?

There is no confirmed evidence that the device malfunctioned. The most likely explanation is that Standish’s final Garmin check-in was either configured to send without location data or was transmitted before the unit secured a GPS fix in difficult terrain, leaving his family with a ping but no usable coordinates. Reporting on the case shows his family received a Garmin check-in on July 23 with no message and no attached coordinates. Outdoor and Garmin-related guidance indicates those are separate functions: a preset “check-in” can be sent without coordinates depending on account settings, and some devices will also struggle to attach a location if they have not locked onto satellites. In steep, high-altitude country such as the Wigwams—an exposed ridgeline area between Grand Teton and the Jedediah Smith Wilderness—terrain can interfere with clear sky access needed for reliable positioning and transmission. What authorities do know is that Garmin tracking data still gave investigators a last known area near the Wigwams. A Teton County Search and Rescue helicopter flew to that area, spotted his orange backpack, and found his body below a ridge. Sheriff Matt Carr said evidence suggests Standish may have fallen 250 to 300 feet from a steep ridgeline. So the failure was not necessarily a total communications breakdown. More likely, the final check-in lacked coordinates because of device settings, an incomplete GPS fix, or harsh terrain conditions shortly before the fatal fall.

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 31

William Standish, a 28-year-old Australian reported missing after four days without contact, was found dead Wednesday on a remote Wyoming trail between Yellowstone and Grand Teton.
Searchers used tracking data from a device that pinged his last known location, flew a helicopter to the coordinates, spotted his bright orange backpack and then recovered his body.
Evidence suggests Standish fell 250 to 300 feet from a steep, high-altitude ridgeline, though the Teton County Coroner’s Office said the official cause of death is still pending.
Standish was thru-hiking the 3,100-mile Continental Divide Trail from Canada to Mexico, a five-state route that can take five to seven months and includes some of North America’s most challenging terrain.