Body found in RMNP, believed to be missing Fort Collins man

Show Caption Hide Caption Here's how RMNP is searching for Brian Perri The incident commander leading the search strategy for the missing Fort Collins man explains the search strategy they're using to find him.

A park ranger discovered a body in Rocky Mountain National Park on Saturday, and officials believe it is that of missing Fort Collins man, Brian Perri.

Perri, 38, went missing June 30 after hiking the nearly 14,000-foot Mount Meeker to celebrate finishing his master's program thesis at Colorado State University.

"I won't hear my best friend laugh, share a good time, or just talk to him about important things," said JC Fischer, Perri's best friend and the organizer of the independent volunteer search that's been going on at Mount Meeker since Perri's disappearance.

"But I also learned that he's not suffering on that mountain, and that he's found and that he will be coming home."

Fischer spent several days hiking more than 200 miles in the backcountry of Mount Meeker looking for Perri, who was described as an avid hiker, along with other friends of Perri's and experienced volunteer hikers.

"I am definitely grateful for the people that went out there to look for him," Fischer said, adding that many of the volunteers were strangers who didn't know Perri or himself.

The Boulder County Coroner's office will confirm the identity of the body pending a completion of an autopsy. A news release from Rocky Mountain National Park said officials believe it belongs to Perri.

A Rocky Mountain National Park climbing ranger found the body near the northwest summit of Mount Meeker in steep terrain, according to an RMNP news release. Additional rangers arrived on scene Saturday night and stayed in the area overnight.

An investigation of the scene took place Sunday, according to the park.

"It's obviously a sense of closure, " Fischer said. "Closure, grief and I guess a small sense of happiness knowing that he died doing what he absolutely loved to do."

Search and rescue crews had been searching for Perri since July 5, after rangers were notified by Fort Collins police that Perri was missing.

MORE ON THIS STORY:

► Timeline: How crews in Rocky Mountain National Park have been searching for missing Fort Collins man

►Friend of man missing in Rocky Mountain National Park vows to find him

►Fort Collins man missing in Rocky Mountain National Park is a CSU student, avid hiker

Perri had texted a friend a photo of himself at Mount Meeker's summit around 10 a.m. June 30. Rangers found his car at the Sandbeach Lake trailhead parking lot July 5.

Search and rescue teams, helicopters, dog teams and drones searched significant sections of a 22.5-square-mile area for Perri beginning July 5. The terrain was rugged and remote with loose rock, steep ridges and exposed cliffs, according to the park.

Larimer County Search and rescue and dog teams, Rocky Mountain Rescue, Fort Collins police, Northern Colorado Helitack, Front Range Rescue Dogs, Flight for Life Air Ambulance and Colorado Search and Rescue board members aided RMNP in the search for Perri.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.