State Briefs

Gordon forms group to examine gas prices

PINEDALE (WNE) — Gov. Mark Gordon on June 8 announced the formation of a Gas and Diesel Price Working Group to address rising fuel costs.

That working group includes members of the governor’s cabinet, representatives of the transportation and agricultural sectors, citizens and legislators.

“Fuel prices have hit yet another high this past week, driving inflation affecting our seniors, veterans and all Wyoming citizens,” Gov. Gordon said in a release. “Yet, all we hear out of Washington, D.C., is that it’s someone else’s fault and there’s no end in sight. Here in Wyoming we need to look for any possible way we can provide some relief for our citizens.”

Gordon also reiterated his commitment to provide quick relief for fuel customers in Wyoming, including tax reductions. Those reductions could be on the table as one of the options this working group may seek in hopes of reducing prices at the pump during the midst of tourism season in the tourist-dense parts of Wyoming like Pinedale and Sublette County.

“It is no secret that the Biden administration’s failed economic policies have directly contributed to inflation,” Gov. Gordon said. “Americans are experiencing the direct consequences of President Biden’s bungled energy policy – from the president’s 2020 executive order banning oil and gas leasing on federal lands, to its dogmatic insistence on regulation over innovation to address the issues we face today. Americans are hurting and need some relief.”

Gillette sculpture commemorates UW athletes killed in wreck

GILLETTE (WNE) — On June 6, Debbie and Jim McLeland and a small group of friends gathered in front of M&K Oil as a Bobcat lowered a bronze winged shoe, six feet in length, into place on a stump of petrified wood.

The sculpture commemorates the eight University of Wyoming cross-country runners who were killed by a drunken driver in 2001.

It serves as yet another reminder of the dangers of drunken driving.

Morgan McLeland was 21 years old when he died in that crash. This fall will mark the 21st anniversary of that incident.

For his mom, Debbie McLeland, time has flown by and simultaneously stood still.

“That’s the strange thing about it,” she said. “It doesn’t take much to just go right back to it, feel everything that you felt that day, and yet, it seems like, how could it possibly be this long?”

Each September, the community honors the memory of those eight runners with the Memory of the 8 Walk/Run. Now, with this sculpture, there will be a reminder that is up year round, ensuring the Memory of the 8 lives on.

The sculpture was created by local artist and dentist Dr. Patrick Love with Powder River Dental.

Love estimated it took between nine and 12 months to complete the sculpture, which measures 72 inches, or six feet, in length and stands 80 inches off the ground at its highest point.

Park County officials searching for missing Indiana man

CODY (WNE) — The Park County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue is searching for a missing person near the Sunlight Creek Bridge.

On Thursday, June 9 at 4:48 P.M, the Park County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center received a report that a 2018 Red Jeep Wrangler, with an Indiana registration, had been parked in the above area for a couple of days and no one had been around it. It has been determined that the vehicle has been there since at least Sunday, June 5.

The vehicle is registered to Lance Daghy, who has been listed as a missing person, from Hobart, Ind. Daghy is a white male, 5 foot 6 inches, 130 pounds, with blue eyes and sandy blonde hair.

SAR is in the area with ground teams to try and locate Daghy. It is unknown as to whether he had the appropriate equipment and supplies for a multiple day stay in the wilderness, and it has been reported that he has no real backpacking or camping experience. Daghy has no known ties to the area.

Newcastle police chief arrested, resigns

NEWCASTLE (WNE) — Too many beers and a joke gone wrong led to a domestic dispute call and the arrest of Newcastle Police Chief Samuel Keller, 58, and the Newcastle City Council began the process of finding and hiring a new chief.

Keller tendered his resignation within 24 hours of his arrest, pleaded guilty and was released on his own recognizance, according to court documents and reports from Weston County Sheriff Bryan Colvard. 

Records showed deputies responded to a report of a domestic dispute at a Newcastle home on May 30.

According to an affidavit filed by Deputy Dan Fields, when he met with a woman at the house, she had a laceration under her right eye, her cheek bone and both dried and fresh blood on her face.

“She stated she tipped him back where he was sitting near a table, and she ran about approximately eight feet away, where he picked up the full beer and threw it at her,” the affidavit says. “She stated they talked about it for a while and drank some more beers, along with the one that was thrown.” 

After consulting with Colvard, Fields placed Keller under arrest for domestic assault.

Woman banned from Grand Teton for providing false info in search

JACKSON (WNE) — A former Jackson resident has been banned from Grand Teton National Park and ordered to pay restitution after park officials say she knowingly provided false information in the search for a missing hiker last summer that cost park officials hundreds of hours looking in the wrong location.

An investigation revealed that on June 21, 2021, Heather Mycoskie, 40, provided false information to investigators about seeing an individual matching the description of 27-year-old missing hiker Cian McLaughlin.

“Per a deferred prosecution agreement, Mycoskie is banned from Grand Teton National Park for a period of five years and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $17,600 to the Department of Treasury,” a Grand Teton National Park press release stated Thursday.

According to the park service press release, Mycoskie reported that she had seen McLaughlin in the late afternoon or early evening of Tuesday, June 8, 2021, the day of McLaughlin’s disappearance.

Mycoskie told investigators the missing man was hiking on the south side of the Bradley-Taggart moraine in Grand Teton National Park and was headed south toward Taggart Lake, where he planned to jump off his favorite rock into the water.

However, subsequent investigation revealed that Mycoskie never saw anyone matching McLaughlin’s description on June 8 in the park.

Investigators said witnesses reported that Mycoskie had fabricated the sighting to ensure search efforts continued.

“As a direct result of Mycoskie’s false report, approximately 532 hours were spent conducting searches, managing search efforts, conducting follow-up investigations and completing associated reports,” the press release said.

Algae warning issued for Gillette lake

GILLETTE (WNE) — A potentially dangerous level of blue-green algae was confirmed in the Gillette Fishing Lake, and an advisory is now in place.

The Wyoming Department of Health issued a recreational use advisory for the Fishing Lake last week, according to the City of Gillette.

The lake remains open under the advisory, which warns the public and pets from coming into contact with the water.

The suspicious waters were reported to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality earlier this month. A sample was taken June 6 on the south shore and the results showed the presence of the bloom, triggering the advisory.

Under the advisory, its recommended that people avoid contact with water near the blooms, especially where the blooms are most dense and visible.

The water may be especially harmful for animals and pets who come in contact with the water.

The city already advises against eating fish caught in the Fishing Lake. The advisory call for rinsing fish caught in bodies of water under an advisory, and for eating only the fillet portion, not the skin.

Boiling, filtering or treating water will not remove the toxins.

The bloom advisory in the fishing lake is the only active advisory in Wyoming, according to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality advisories map.

Buffalo man killed in Marine aircraft crash in California

BUFFALO (WNE) — Former Buffalo man, Seth Rasmuson, was among the five Marines killed when an Osprey aircraft crashed in southern California on Wednesday. 

Rasmuson graduated from Buffalo High School in 2019. Rasmuson’s family confirmed his death to the Bulletin.

According to a statement from the Marines on Thursday, the Marines were assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 39 at Camp Pendleton. Their MV-22B Osprey crashed during a training exercise in southern California. 

“We mourn the loss of our Marines in this tragic mishap,” said Maj. Gen. Bradford Gering, the commanding general of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, in a statement. “Our hearts go out to their families and friends as they cope with this tragedy.”

According to the statement, recovery of the aircraft’s wreckage is underway and an investigation has begun. The Marine Corps Osprey, a hybrid airplane and helicopter, is primarily used to transport troops and equipment.

Coalition launches suicide fatality review process

JACKSON (WNE) — The Community Prevention Coalition, which works to prevent suicide in Jackson Hole, is leading a new fatality review process to examine circumstances leading to suicide deaths in Teton County.

Composed of law enforcement, hospital and public health staffers, and Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue, the review team plans to meet quarterly to identify risk factors and to workshop local policy recommendations that could help prevent suicides.

The approach mirrors one taken by a review team in Washington County, Oregon, which helped reduce its local suicide rate by 40% over a six-year period.

Mental health has long been a problem in Wyoming, where suicide is a leading cause of preventable deaths. According to the Wyoming Division of Victim Services, suicide is currently the second-leading cause of death for ages 10 to 24.

There have been two suicide deaths in Teton County this year, and both were people younger than 24.

“We have a significant problem in this county with suicides,” said Blue, a longtime Jackson physician. “And we’ve had that problem for many years — basically as long as I’ve lived here.”

In addition to funding, Blue said, providers need to continue to address the stigmas associated with poor mental health.

It will be difficult to get families to share the circumstances of a loved one’s death by suicide, Beverly Shore, Jackson’s community prevention specialist and a leader of the new review team, told the Jackson Hole Daily. But she also believes that sharing can be a vehicle for positive change.

The first review could happen this month, Shore said Wednesday. 

For help with suicidal thoughts, call the Wyoming LifeLine at (800) 273-8255 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255. 

Torrington police investigate auto burglaries

TORRINGTON (WNE) — The Torrington Police Department is asking the community for help with a string of auto burglaries.

According to the TPD Facebook page, 12 vehicles were entered into on Rio Vista Road, West C Street, West D Street and East A Street between the hours of 1-4 a.m. on Wednesday.

Torrington Police Chief Matt Johnson said there were no signs of forced entry and officers are following up on possible leads.

“I’m really hopeful that folks in the community who have video systems will check their system from that timeframe of 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. and call if they see anything suspicious on their video systems,” Johnson said.

While auto burglaries are uncommon in Torrington, Johnson said a series of these crimes in one night is very rare which leads to officers to believe the incidents are connected.

“We’re working this as either a single suspect or a group of suspects that committed these [Wednesday] morning and we believe they’re all related,” he said.

As the police department continues to search for the suspects, Johnson also wants to remind residents about the importance of locking their cars.

“We also really would like to underscore the community importance of locking your car,” he said. “Don’t leave those valuable items in your vehicle and make sure you lock them up and keep an eye out for your neighbors.”