Hiker who went missing near Yellowstone Park was killed in a suspected grizzly bear attack, officials say

• A hiker who went missing in Montana died after encountering a grizzly bear, authorities said.
• Craig Clouatre, 40, went missing while hiking with a friend on Wednesday.

A Montana man who went missing while hiking was killed in a suspected grizzly bear attack, authorities said on Friday.

Craig Clouatre, 40, of Livingston had been hiking with a friend near Yellowstone Park on Wednesday to look for antlers, Park County Sheriff Brad Bichler told Livingston Enterprise.

The two split up, and when Clouatre failed to meet his friend at their vehicle, a search began in the Six Mile Creek area.

Search teams on the ground and in helicopters were deployed, and thermal imaging was used to try and find him, Bichler said on Facebook.

On Friday, authorities reported that Clouatre had been found dead.

"It is with a very heavy heart that I am writing this update. After an extensive search this morning, we have located Craig. It appears he had an encounter with a grizzly and unfortunately did not survive," Bichler said in a statement on Facebook.

The Sheriff did not provide additional details on why they believe a grizzly bear was involved.

Clouatre leaves behind his wife and four children, for whom a GoFundMe page has been set up.

The family had previously suffered tragedy just two years ago when they lost almost everything in a house fire, according to the GoFundMe page.

Family friend Anne Tanner told AP that the family was recovering from a devastating house fire.

"He was finally just getting their house together," Tanner told AP. "It just makes me angry that something like this could happen to such a good person. Of all the men I know, I can't believe he would die in the wilderness. He was so strong and he was so smart."

Grizzly bears in the Yellowstone region have killed at least eight people since 2010, according to AP.