The mystery surrounding a missing Glacier National Park hiker reached a grim resolution on Thursday.

The body of Jakson Kreiser, 19, was found by hikers southwest of Hidden Lake and removed by park rangers on Thursday. 

Kreiser left Logan Pass for an ambitious day hike on July 28 but never returned.

At approximately 12:30 p.m. Thursday, hikers notified park personnel that they had found human remains southwest of Hidden Lake.

Park rangers and a Flathead County Deputy Coroner Dick Sine traveled to the site and Sine confirmed the body was Kreiser. 

Sine said Kreiser was found off-trail in a subalpine talus slope between two cliff bands. The slope has several small waterfall drainages “and he was in one of those little waterfall drainages, about halfway down the slope,” Sine said.

A team of four got to the general area by helicopter.

“We did not see him by aerial reconnaisance. We had to do it by foot,” said Sine, adding that the hikers happened upon the body and were able to get GPS coordinates that was used by the recovery team.

Sine would not speculate whether Kreiser may have died from a fall.

“We’d rather not say anything about that pending the outcome of an autopsy so there is no speculation,” he said. “Sometimes things that appear obvious to you aren’t obvious once a doctor does an examination.”

Kreiser was working as a seasonal employee at Lake McDonald Lodge. This was his first year working in Glacier Park.

An exhaustive ground and aerial search was launched the day after Kreiser disappeared. The search lasted eight days but found few clues other than boot prints.

Park officials believed he meant to hike from Logan Pass to Avalanche Lake and possibly climb down some of the exposed rock faces.  

The search area was focused on the rugged area between Hidden Lake and Avalanche Lake and in the Floral Park area. This area includes treacherous country filled with rock cliffs, waterfalls, wet and slippery rocks and boulders, and dense vegetation.

A memorial service for Kreiser was held Aug. 17 in Hudsonville, Mich.

Hundreds of people packed the West Michigan ballroom to remember Kreiser; many spoke of his love for the outdoors and his independent spirit.

“We come together because we have nothing else to do than cling to each other,” said Matthew Rozema, Kreiser’s close friend. “Jakson was meant to go out to Montana and find his one true love— the outdoors.”

Kreiser’s family wrote in his obituary that “Jakson found heaven with an endless view of snow-capped mountains, tumbling waterfalls and cool glacial lakes.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.