“I am writing this update with a very heavy heart. After extensive research this morning, we have located Craig,” Bichler said in a Facebook post. “It looks like he had an encounter with a grizzly bear and unfortunately did not survive,” Bicher’s post said. Bichler said the couple needed to meet again, but Clouatre “did not show up Wednesday night.” “Usually we do not put people in the mountains in the dark at first glance, so we started the first thing on Thursday morning and spent the whole day on Thursday,” Bichler told CNN. “(We flew thermal imaging all night, Thursday night, until about 11:00, and then started again this morning just after the first light.” Authorities found Cluatr’s body on Friday, the post said. Bichler said bear attacks have occurred in the area in the past, but are not usually fatal. On Facebook, Bichler asked residents “please keep his family and everyone involved in your thoughts and prayers.”
