BAXTER STATE PARK – The body of a hiker who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound was found Sunday night after rangers and the Maine Warden Service spent almost two days searching, park officials said Monday.

Aaron Walsh, 34, of Fairfield was found east of Avalanche Field and near the eastern boundary of the park at about 7 p.m. Sunday, park naturalist Jean Hoekwater said. Wardens and park rangers recovered a weapon and determined at the scene that he had shot himself, she said.

Wardens and park rangers used ground-search volunteers and search dogs to help find Walsh, she said. The exact number of searchers was not immediately available Monday.

“None of the reports have been turned in,” Hoekwater said Monday. “It was a field situation, and it usually takes a little while before reports come in under those circumstances.”

The search began Saturday, when park rangers found Walsh’s vehicle and traced it to Walsh, who had arrived in the park Friday and registered as a day hiker, Hoekwater said.

On Sunday, the Maine Warden Service initiated an expanded search using the dogs and ground searchers.

Located near Millinocket and encompassing Mount Katahdin, the more than 200,000-acre park has 10 campgrounds, is intersected by about 175 miles of trails and employs about 21 full-time and 38 seasonal workers.

The park attracted about 56,000 visitors last year, Hoekwater said.