RED LODGE - Officials have paused efforts to locate a missing hiker who fell into a creek in the Beartooth Mountains.
Red Lodge Fire Rescue said in a social media post that the decision was made after consulting with the National Weather Service in Billings regarding ongoing runoff and water conditions.
The search will resume next week "as conditions allow and will continue until the hiker is found," the post states.
"Tragically, it is believed the missing hiker has not survived," search officials said.
The 23-year-old man went missing Sunday afternoon while trying to cross East Rosebud Creek at Rimrock Lake. The man was swept into the rushing water and has not been seen since.
The man's hiking companion reported the incident.
Search crews spent Monday and Wednesday at the site, and on Wednesday they recovered backpacks and gear that had been left behind by the hiking group on Sunday.
Several helicopters and drones have also been used in the search.
The missing man's name has not been released.
RELATED: Search continues for missing hiker at Rimrock Lake
East Rosebud Creek flows out of Rimrock Lake along the popular Beaten Path 26-mile hiking trail in the Beartooth Mountains. The lake is located several miles from the trailhead.
It is the second time in less than a year a hiker has encountered danger at that location, which used to have a bridge span over the creek. The bridge was washed away by flooding in 2022.
A 20-year-old Montana State University student, Dylan Honnoll from Minnesota, died last year when he slipped into the creek at the same location.
