A Columbia man who was reported missing in Michaux State Forest late Tuesday evening was found dead in a creek Wednesday afternoon, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

Chad Stroup, 26, left his house at 9 a.m. Tuesday to scout for good deer hunting sites in Michaux State Forest near Shippensburg and Birch Run roads, according to Claudia J. Garner, the Cumberland County information officer at the scene Wednesday.

Stroup brought a backpack with food, water, tools to make a fire, hiking boots and warm clothing, she said.

According to Pennsylvania State Trooper and Public Information Officer Tom Pinkerton, Stroup had been to the park to scout for hunting sites four times in the past several weeks, and was well aquatinted with the area.

But when he didn't return by 9 p.m. Tuesday, Stroup's family became concerned and contacted state police at Carlisle, who attempted to locate him, Pinkerton said.

Toby Hippensteel, Shippensburg, said he found Stroup's truck 1 1/2 miles down Birch Run Road, but Stroup was nowhere to be found.

Hippensteel was at the park on Tuesday night when a trooper stopped him, asking him if he had seen the truck, he said.

"I know this mountain like the back of my hand," Hippensteel said, as he assisted with the search on Wednesday.

Pinkerton said Stroup's truck was found completely intact, with "no type of struggle" indicated from an initial investigation. Sometime after 9 p.m. Tuesday, a formal missing persons report was filed, and the search began.

State police from both the Carlisle and Gettysburg stations searched for Stroup through the night, Pinkerton said.

Bloodhounds were brought out to the park to assist in the search Wednesday morning.

"A dog is like a tool," said Bill Boose, chief of Middle Creek Search and Rescue, at the scene. "It might work that day and it might not."

"If a person's deceased, a scent dog won't find them," he explained.

By Wednesday afternoon, more than 13 fire companies from four counties and the York-Adams Red Cross, totaling more than 100 people, had responded to the scene.

Stroup's body was eventually discovered by two firefighters around 3 p.m. Wednesday in a shallow creek approximately a half-mile from his truck, Pinkerton said.

Pinkerton said there were "no visible injuries to the body" and no signs of foul play. Stroup did not have a firearm with him, he said, and indicated the investigation into the cause of death is ongoing.

The ruggedness of the area's terrain is one possible reason for the lag in finding the body, Pinkerton said.

"The terrain here is very steep and rocky," said Bruce McFate of the Caledonia State Park Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. McFate was the acting incident commander. "And it's hard to find anybody dressed in camo."

At the scene Wednesday, helicopters flew overhead as the temperature continued to drop. Rescue workers milled around the parking lot, consoling family members clutching hot chocolate from the Red Cross' truck.

"His father wanted people to know he wasn't a careless kid," Garner said. "He and his friends have been hiking in sub-zero weather and he always carries a compass."

Adams County Coroner Patricia Felix was called out to the scene around 3 p.m. An autopsy is to be performed Friday at Lehigh Valley Hospital.

Pinkerton said to his knowledge Stroup had no pre-existing medical conditions and was in good health.

"As far as I know, he was able-bodied and just out doing what he loved," he said.