Authorities said the victim’s injuries were consistent with a bear encounter, which would mark the park’s first fatal attack since 1998.
WASHINGTON — A missing hiker was found dead in Montana’s Glacier National Park in what officials say appears to have been the park’s first fatal bear encounter in nearly three decades.
The hiker’s body was discovered around noon Wednesday about 2.5 miles up the Mt. Brown Trail in a densely wooded area roughly 50 feet off the trail, according to the National Park Service. Officials said the victim’s injuries were “consistent with those sustained by a bear encounter,” though the investigation remains ongoing.
The incident would mark Glacier National Park’s first fatal bear-related death since 1998, when a person was killed in the Two Medicine Valley. The last reported bear injury in the park occurred in August 2025.
Park officials said wildlife and law enforcement personnel are continuing to assess the area for bear activity and any ongoing public safety concerns. The section of trail where the body was found has been temporarily closed during the investigation.
The park has not released the hiker’s identity and said it is withholding the name until 72 hours after next-of-kin notification.
Search efforts began earlier this week after the hiker was reported missing Monday. Officials said he had told others he planned to hike toward the Mt. Brown Fire Lookout. His last known message was sent around 8:20 p.m. Sunday.
Glacier National Park is home to roughly 1,000 bears, including both black bears and grizzlies. Park officials estimated about 300 grizzly bears lived in the park in 2023, according to NBC News.
The discovery comes days after two hikers were seriously injured in a separate grizzly bear encounter in Yellowstone National Park. Officials there said a female grizzly with cubs was believed to have been involved.