THE SEARCH OPERATION for a missing 27-year-old Dublin man who was last seen hiking in Wyoming in the US over a week ago will be refocused when it resumes later today.

Cian McLaughlin was last seen by a friend at around 2.30pm on Tuesday, 8 June, approximately half a mile from the Lupine Meadows Trailhead in the Grand Teton National Park, hiking to an unknown destination.

In an update today, park rangers said a local climbing guide reported seeing a man fitting McLaughlin’s description on 8 June hiking up the Garnet Canyon trail, above the Garnet Canyon/Surprise Lake junction around 3.45pm.

“He described him as a solo hiker who had shoulder-length hair and was wearing round glasses, a white shirt, shorts, and a hat. The guide also reported the man as having tattoos on his arms and carrying a bottle of water,” according to the national park.

Based on this new information, the search operations will be adjusted to focus more on Garnet Canyon.

McLaughlin was wearing a white short-sleeve shirt and a red watch while in his vehicle. In addition, it is believed he was wearing shorts, a bucket hat and round sunglasses. He also has a noticeable tattoo on his left forearm.

Search efforts yesterday included over fifty park staff conducting ground search efforts in high probability areas of the backcountry.

Six search and rescue dog teams, members of Teton County Search and Rescue, and the Teton Interagency Helicopter have also been involved.

Anyone with information regarding McLaughlin’s whereabouts is asked to contact the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch via call on text on 888-653-0009.