After more than 12 days of fruitless searching, Park County officials have suspended the search for a Billings hiker who went missing in Sunlight Basin northwest of Cody.

The decision came on Saturday night, after that day’s concerted search of the Clarks Fork Canyon area failed to turn up any sign of 32-year-old Jason Shefelbine.

“Without any more clues and the deteriorating weather, we have had to suspend the search,” said Park County Sheriff Scott Steward in a news release. “At this time, everything we know points to the canyon and it is just not safe to put searchers in there in bad weather.

“There are so many places he (Shefelbine) could be that we just cannot access,” Steward said.

Shefelbine has not been seen since Oct. 1.

Since a deputy found Shefelbine’s car near Antelope Butte on the night of Oct. 4, 22 members of the Park County Search and Rescue team, Sublette County’s Tip-Top Search and Rescue squad, dog teams, an airplane, helicopter and many additional volunteers from Billings, Casper and Glenrock have all taken turns scouring the area for signs of Shefelbine.

They’ve searched between the Chief Joseph Highway and the Clarks Fork Canyon and five miles along canyon, Steward said, but have found no sign of the missing man.

Steward said the only solid clue came from an individual who reported seeing Shefelbine around 2 p.m. on Oct. 1. The man was seen carrying a daypack and fishing pole on a power line access road northwest of Antelope Butte.

While search dogs showed interest in a couple of areas along the 1,000 foot tall canyon, swirling wind currents and treacherous terrain kept the teams from finding a definitive area or direction, Steward said.

Saturday’s search involved mountain rescue teams from Park County and Sublette County, two dog teams and a kayak team that ran the Clark’s Fork River through that portion of the canyon.

High-definition video of the canyon has been taken by helicopter and that footage will continue to be analyzed, Steward said. Teams will also check the area in the future and future video-recording flights may be scheduled if wind allows.

The sheriff thanked those who have helped with the search.

Anyone who finds anything of interest in the area — such as clothing, a black daypack, a fishing rod or equipment — is asked to report it to the Park County Sheriff’s Office at 307-527-8700.