William Standish lived for hiking. His passion took him all over the world – Sweden, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Canada and the US, to mention a few.
At just 28 years old, the young Melburnian dreamed of moving to South America to live and work. First, though, he wanted to complete a gruelling walk – one that he first attempted but was forced to abandon two years ago.
It was on this trail – the Continental Divide Trail from Canada to Mexico – that he was reported missing. His family hadn’t heard from him in days, and when a rescue crew went out to look for him, they confirmed the worst.
“He felt deeply, loved genuinely and always, always made people feel seen.”
Statement from family of Will Standish
“Our beautiful Will was a treasure,” his family told this masthead in a statement on Sunday night. “He was funny, cheeky, adorable, smart and kind. Unapologetically himself.”
“He felt deeply, loved genuinely and always, always made people feel seen.”
Earlier this year, Standish had embarked on his second attempt at the gruelling hike that begins in Canada, after injuring his foot during the same hike in 2024 and heading home earlier than planned.
Now, Standish’s heart and soul will be “forever in the mountain”, his family said in a statement, after a horror fall claimed his life on the trail.
According to his family, Will had a strong passion for social justice and was profoundly connected with nature. He studied environmental sciences and once spent a semester abroad in the Czech Republic.
“We want to thank the tireless efforts of the Search and Rescue teams who found him and the authorities who are caring for him until we can bring him home,” they said.
“Finally, a note from us to our Will. We love you. We will carry you with us forever. Thank you for filling our lives with a love so deep, so full of colour and warmth.
“Rest in eternal sunshine. Dance with the stars.”
After 8am US time on Wednesday, Teton County Search and Rescue, based in Jackson, Wyoming, found a body, nearly a week after a 28-year-old Australian hiker had been reported missing on a remote part of the trail between Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.
In a statement, the rescue group said they were saddened to report the man, later identified as Standish, had died after a suspected fall on the trail, in an area known as “the Wigwams, on the west slope of the Tetons”.
“Evidence suggests that he may have fallen from a steep, high-altitude ridgeline that separates Grand Teton National Park and the Jedediah Smith Wilderness,” the rescue group’s statement said.
Officials from the national parks, who led the investigation, said Standish had been attempting to hike the Continental Divide Trail – a hike starting in Canada through to the border of Mexico. This time, he was hiking southbound, after his initial northbound attempt in 2024.
Standish had been giving his family back home in Australia regular updates via his Garmin, with an update sent on July 19 planning out his next movements.
On July 23, his family received a check-in with no coordinates or message, but a video on Facebook Messenger, which they believed placed him in the Tetons. By July 27, when they hadn’t heard anything else, they contacted park officials.
By Wednesday morning, two days later, the search and rescue helicopter flew a team to Standish’s last presumed point, and, from the air, saw a bright orange backpack. Then, they found him.
“His body was recovered and transported to TCSAR headquarters in Jackson before being transferred to the Teton County Coroner’s Office,” the rescue group said.
“TCSAR sends its sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased, and wishes to express its gratitude to the partnering federal agencies who assisted in the investigation.”
Sharing her grief, trail friend Katie Jackson also took to social media to farewell the hiker, who she said had a “uniquely large heart”.
“Struck this week by the enormity of the choices we make: where we go, what we do, and especially who we go with,” she wrote.
“Incredibly grateful to have known Will so well and experienced how his life touched and changed mine.
“Will had a uniquely large heart that was filled to the brim with love from and for his family, friends, adventures, tiny foster puppies, music, snowboarding, and comically large burritos. To know him was to spend most of your day laughing.”
The Continental Divide Trail Coalition said they’d lost someone who lifted everyone up.
“The CDT community lost a bit of light this week,” they said in a Facebook post following his death.
“Though he began his 2026 hike stronger than ever, Will was reported overdue on July 26. Concerned hikers immediately rallied to spread the word and join the search, which was a bit of comfort to his worried family in Australia.
“At CDTC, like so many others, we are deeply saddened by the news of Will’s passing.”
Since his death in the US, Standish’s trail friends started a fundraiser to help pay for his funeral, and the heavy price of bringing him home to Australia.
A DFAT spokesperson said they were providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian who died in Wyoming.
“We send our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time,” they said in a statement.
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