Missing hiker shares eerie final video before disappearing on Utah hike

A hiker sent a chilling video clip to his friend before he vanished without a trace with the clip helping police track his empty truck.

A hiker sent a chilling video clip before he vanished without a trace, police have said.

Austin Madsen, 32, was reported missing in Utah on January 29 and has not yet been found.

Footage shared online by his wife Emily shows the hiker exploring the landscape and trudging through the deep snow, The Sun reports.

The father-of-two, originally from Ohio, shared a 360 shot of the terrain and said: “The ocean’s coming back brother.”

Emily revealed that he had sent the short clip to his friend.

The ping from Austin’s mobile phone helped police find his empty truck in the Dry Hollow Area of Mount Dutton.

Austin Madsen sent a video to his friend before he vanished without a trace. Picture: Facebook

He was believed to have been driving a 2011 Chevrolet Avalanche, according to FOX13.

Police also spotted a trail of footprints that they believe were left by the hiker.

Rescue crews and police have been combing the landscape for several days before search efforts were paused on January 31 due to extreme weather.

Officers have said that the low temperatures, high winds, and deep snow have made search efforts “complicated”.

His wife Emily said it’s ‘not common’ for Austin to go a long period without speaking to his family. Picture: Facebook

Austin’s black truck has since been found. Picture: Facebook

Temperatures in the Mount Dutton area have plunged to bone-chilling lows of -6F (-14C) but search efforts haven’t been called off.

Police have said that Austin’s family has not heard from him since last weekend.

They revealed that he reportedly told them that he was going to Arizona.

Austin sent a video to his friend that showed the snowy landscape. Picture: Facebook

Emily told Utah TV station KUTV: “It’s not common for him to go this long without any sort of communication.

“I talked to him via FaceTime and he was snowshoeing and looked like he was having fun, but then he was looking for the truck was going to get down and I haven’t heard from him since.”

Emily has described the ordeal as “really unbearable” adding: “I didn’t think I’d have to go through something like this.”

She told KUTV that she doesn’t think her husband has been to Mount Dutton before.

But, she revealed online that Austin is an outdoorsman and has previously done backpacking and is “pretty resilient” to “far travels”.

Mount Dutton is located around 370km south of the state capital Salt Lake City.

Police have confirmed that the search remains ongoing.

This story originally appeared on The Sun and is republished here with permission