He never made it, and his body wasn't found for another four months, when two hikers found it near the Boar's Tusk, a volcanic landmark and famed climbing spot 14 miles north of Rock Springs, WY and 179 miles south of his destination in Jackson.
The case, which had been featured on America's Most Wanted, may now have an ending: Today Wyoming's Trib.com reports that former Rock Springs resident Eric John Conn, 41, arrested last month in connection with the case, has been charged with first-degree murder, accessory to murder in the first degree and accessory after the fact.
Via Trib.com:
Eric John Conn, 41, was taken into custody on March 18 and charged in connection with the death of Ben Bradley, according to a joint media release from Sweetwater County Sheriff Rich Haskell and County Attorney Brett Johnson.
Conn was arrested in St. Louis last month. He has been charged with first-degree murder, accessory to murder in the first degree and accessory after the fact... Haskell said Conn was transported back to Wyoming by county detectives and the suspect appeared in Circuit Court in Rock Springs on Tuesday. Judge Dan Forgey set Bradley's bond at $2 million cash or surety.
For more on the case, check out the America's Most Wanted profile.