Missing hiker found dead in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

An Oregon man who went missing this month in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve was found dead in the park Wednesday, officials said.

Search-and-rescue personnel found a body believed to be that of Nick Larsen, 34, in a river, according to a park statement.

[National Park Service searching vast wilderness for man missing near McCarthy]

Larsen was last seen Aug. 7 at the McCarthy Lodge, according to Alaska State Troopers. He told lodge employees and family members that he planned to backpack alone in the area but did not say where.

Larsen was reported missing Aug. 11 by family.

Park public information officer Jamie Hart wrote that officials located the body in the Nizina River. Larsen's backpack was found on the river Monday by rafters, Hart said. The discovery helped researchers target the area.

Hart said the body was found about a mile downstream from a bridge on the Nizina Road. The bridge is approximately 9 miles from McCarthy, a small community within the park.

Hart said the body was sent to the State Medical Examiner Office in Anchorage to determine a cause of death. She said search personnel were able to confirm tattoos that matched a description of Larsen's.