Authorities in Wyoming have suspended search and rescue efforts for a Minnesota hiker who’s been missing for more than three weeks.

Grant Gardner, 38, of Lakeville, was last heard from on the evening of July 29. He texted his wife to let her know he reached the top of Cloud Peak — at an elevation of more than 13,000 feet — in a rugged wilderness area in north-central Wyoming.

Gardner said the climb was more taxing than he expected, and that he was planning to head to a lower elevation for the night. He hasn’t been heard from since.

Authorities launched an extensive air and ground search for Gardner. But in an update this week, Big Horn County Sheriff Ken Blackburn said crews are now moving to a search-and-recovery operation.

The sheriff called it a “heartbreaking and difficult decision

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