The family of an Irish man last seen in Grand Teton National Park has put out a plea for information from anyone who might have seen him earlier this summer before he disappeared.
Cian McLaughlin, 27, was last seen at around 2:30 p.m. June 8, about one-half mile from the Lupine Meadows Trailhead in the park. His vehicle was found days later.
“The weather is changing rapidly and we have a small window to bring home this incredibly adored young man,” a new missing poster with the hashtag #FindCian said. “We desperately need your help to find him and get closure for his loved ones who have been frantically searching over four long months to locate Cian.”
The poster said that McLaughlin was wearing a white t-shirt, a pair of shorts, a red Apple Watch, wire-rimmed sunglasses and a silver necklace at the time of his disappearance.
Rangers received a report not long after of someone seeing a man fitting McLaughlin’s description around 3:45 p.m. on June 8 hiking up the Garnet Canyon trail, so search teams began to look in that area.
McLaughlin is 6 feet tall and weighs 180 pounds. He has brown hair and eyes. He has an Irish accent and would be considered thin or fit.
According to an article by the Irish Times, McLaughlin is a Dublin native who works as a snowboard instructor in Jackson. The newspaper also noted his Facebook page said he started working at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort last December and that he previously lived in the French ski resort of Chamonix.
A GoFundMe campaign was launched to support McLaughlin’s family, including their travel to the United States to help search for him. It has raised more than $50,000 in U.S. currency as of Thursday.
McLaughlin is the only person who disappeared in the park this summer to not yet be found. Gabby Petito was found in Bridger-Teton National Forest, not far from the park, in mid-September and her death has been ruled a homicide.
Robert Lowery also was last seen in Grand Teton in August, and his body was found in September, as well. His death was ruled a suicide.
