Daily Darwin

Look, I'm an acrobat!! (individual was not permanently injured -- he's just an idiot)

Darwin 5 17 23

Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>Daily Darwin: Wednesday, May 17, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Look, I'm an acrobat!!!

Daily Darwin: Wednesday, May 17, 2023

 Look, I'm an acrobat!! (individual was not permanently injured -- he's just an idiot)

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Around Wyoming

The Weiser Knoll wildfire southeast of Lander, sparked by an overheated trailer wheel bearing Sunday afternoon, exploded to roughly 13,350 acres by midday Tuesday and was 0% contained. 

The fire, the largest of the summer so far in Wyoming, prompted an evacuation order for residents in the Twin Creek Drainage area, east of Wyoming Highway 28.

Area rancher Rhett Abernathy told Cowboy State Daily that by about noon Tuesday he and others hoped the worst was over, as winds calmed and “slurry bombers” continued to drop water and fire retardant on the blaze.

Sunday night was awful, he said, as the fire was driven by strong winds.

“That first night, the wind picked up and the fire started running down the ridges. Everybody was just waiting for their places to go up,” Abernathy said.

According to state and federal fire agency reports, the fire was sparked at about 2:15 p.m. Sunday on Highway 28 about 13 miles southeast of Lander.

The overheated bearing caused three initial fires to spring up alongside the road at a spot known as Johnnie Lee’s Corner, according to reports. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Five-Foot Flames’"}]

Lander resident Michelle Motherway told Cowboy State Daily  she was camping with family Sunday and drove back into town after the fire started. 

“There were five-foot flames right on the side of the highway,” she said. 

The smoke in town wasn’t terrible Tuesday, but late Sunda, it was miserable, Motherway said. 

“Two nights ago, it was really reminiscent of the (1988) Yellowstone fires, where you could see that the moon was orange and the sky was orange. It was just eerie,” she said. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Rangeland Scorched"}]

Abernathy said that during its initial stages, the fire tore through ranchland on the Abernathy Ranches and Bureau of Land Management allotments leased by the ranch. 

It was touch-and-go for a while, he said, as they scrambled to move cattle out of the flames’ path. 

Luckily, Abernathy said, nobody was hurt and no cattle were killed. 

“We had a couple of old log cabins and old barns burn, but they were of no function,” he said. 

However, a significant amount of rangeland was rendered useless for grazing, he said.

“It will be the year after next before we can graze any of it again,” Abernathy said. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Feeding the Firefighters"}]

Motherway owns Mr. D’s Food Center in Lander, which has been helping to feed firefighters. 

“When the fire broke out on Sunday, I got hold of the fire incident command, and we arranged to get food for them,” she said. “We fed 65 people Sunday evening.” 

But as local Wyoming State Forestry and BLM crews were called in, the number of firefighters needed three meals a day delivered to them ballooned.

“We’re feeding 200 people breakfast, lunch, and dinner,” she said. 

With only three full-time staff at the store, meeting demand requires “an army of volunteers,” Motherway added. 

Codi Jorgensen, a local teacher, volunteered to help prepare firefighters’ meals, along with her 11-year-old daughter. 

“We were there (at the store) for four or five hours, putting meals together,” Jorgensen said. 

Motherway stepping up to help is “just Michelle being Michelle,” Jorgensen said. So, she and her daughter were happy to pitch in.

She added that while the smoke hasn’t been so horrible in town, the fire still has an ominous presence.

“We can see it from our back deck at my house. You can see the flames,” Jorgensen said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Lookie-Loos’"}]

Motherway said there have been some “lookie-loos” showing up to try to get a look at the fire, which can impede firefighters and cause safety problems. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"The BLM concurred. "}]

“Twin Creek Rd. is closed to the public and only open to area landowners. Highways WY 28 and US 287 remain open, but please remain alert and yield to fire traffic and crews working in the area. For public and firefighter safety, the public is asked to remain out of and away from the fire perimeter,” the agency stated in a fire update Tuesday afternoon. “Red Flag conditions, characterized by strong gusty winds, low relative humidity, and elevated temperatures, contributed to heightened fire activity yesterday (Monday).” 

On Tuesday, ground crews were “constructing direct containment lines," as aircraft continued to drop water and fire retardant. 

“Coordination continues with local power companies to restore power to the area,” the BLM reported.

Fire smoke 8 11 26

<title>Fire Near Lander Grows To 13,350 Acres And 0% Contained, Prompts Evacuations | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The Weiser Knoll fire near Lander, started by an overheated wheel bearing on Highway 28 on Sunday, exploded to Wyoming's largest at 13,350 acres and was 0% contained Tuesday. “Everybody was waiting for their places to go up,” a local rancher said.

Fire Near Lander Grows To 13,350 Acres And 0% Contained, Prompts Evacuations

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

A young man with brown hair, brown eyes and a reddish mustache was found floating in the Greybull River west of Basin in the summer of 1973.

More than 50 years later, investigators still don't know his name — or 

His body was buried under the name John Doe in the Basin Cemetery.

Now the Big Horn County Coroner's Office has reopened the case. The 

 office isn’t saying why the case is being reopened now.

According to a study released by the National Institute of Justice, 

 a cold case include: Advancements in forensic technology, new leads through fresh case and evidence review, increased public support and interest, and improvements in information management

“This death was certainly suspicious in nature and possibly could be a homicide,” the coroner’s office announced in a public appeal. “Our goal is to identify the decedent and bring justice in his case if it is needed.”

The challenge is that much of the original investigation appears to have vanished.

The coroner’s office said there is “little documented information to go on” and that no law enforcement report from the original investigation could be located.

[{"type":"text","text":"Only a coroner’s verdict has been discovered."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"A Body In The River"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"What investigators do know begins July 10, 1973."}]

Someone reported seeing a body floating in the Greybull River about 50 feet north of the highway bridge west of Basin.

Coroner’s officials and sheriff’s deputies responded and recovered a young man believed to have been between 18 and 26 years old.

He stood about 5 feet, 6 inches. His weight was estimated at between 150 and 160 pounds.

The young man apparently had been in the water for several days and nights.

He was wearing blue-and-white striped cutoff pants and possibly a polo shirt.

[{"type":"text","text":"No wallet, identification or vehicle was found. "}]

There were, however, several items on the riverbank that might be able to help investigators figure out who he was or where he had come from. 

[{"type":"text","text":"17 Cigarettes "}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Among them was a distinctive 14-karat gold ring."}]

The ring features the head of a bird, a diamond and the initials “MK.”

Investigators also documented two leather moccasins with rubber soles, a pair of prescription Ray-Ban sunglasses and a pack of Marlboro cigarettes.

[{"type":"text","text":"Seventeen cigarettes remained."}]

The coroner’s office has released photographs of the items in hopes someone might recognize them.

The ring in particular has attracted attention from people following the case online.

A Jen Frederick suggested it might have been custom-made and asked whether a maker's mark could lead investigators to the jeweler who sold it — and potentially old purchase records.

[{"type":"text","text":"“Unfortunately no stamps,” the coroner’s office responded."}]

A larger unanswered question: whether all of the belongings on the riverbank actually belonged to the dead man.

[{"type":"text","text":"The surviving information does not establish that."}]

A citizen reported seeing several young men swimming in the same area several days before the body was discovered.

Whether investigators ever identified those swimmers, interviewed them or determined whether John Doe was among them is unclear.

The original law enforcement report that might answer those questions has not been located.

That missing paper trail leaves investigators trying to reconstruct events that happened more than five decades ago.

[{"type":"text","text":"And the river itself provides one surviving record of that week."}]

The U.S. Geological Survey operated a stream gauge on the Greybull River at essentially the same location where the body was reported.

describe the Greybull River near Basin gauge as being at the upstream side of the highway bridge, exactly 8 miles west of Basin. The gauge operated from 1930 until it was discontinued in September 1973.

[{"type":"text","text":"That means measurements survive from the summer John Doe was found."}]

The USGS records show the river's discharge had fallen substantially during the days leading up to the discovery, dropping from 179 cubic feet per second July 1 to 18 cubic feet per second July 10.

Those numbers measure the volume of water passing the gauge, not the river's depth or speed, and they don't establish where or how the young man entered the water.

[{"type":"text","text":"DNA Possibility"}]

Modern forensic science might ultimately offer investigators something they didn't have in 1973.

A person responding to the coroner’s office announcement asked whether DNA might be recovered from the sunglasses, moccasins or ring and used to locate relatives through genetic genealogy.

The coroner’s office said decades of people handling the belongings makes recovering useful DNA from the objects unlikely.

“Last option we will perform is an exhumation to obtain DNA to run through several databases such as Ancestry,” the coroner’s office said in response.

For now, the coroner's office said the case has been entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, better known as NamUs.

[{"type":"text","text":"That alone is significant."}]

 in June that twin Cheyenne genealogists Ashley Kroner and Megan McWilliams have been working to locate unidentified people whose cases were never entered into NamUs.

At the time, Wyoming had nine unidentified people listed in NamUs, with cases dating to 1977. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Does Somebody Remember Him?"}]

The Big Horn County Coroner’s Office had not responded to Cowboy State Daily’s request for additional information by publication time.

[{"type":"text","text":"For now, the mystery returns to few surviving details."}]

Somebody might remember a young man who left home in the summer of 1973 and never returned or recognize the ring that was found on a Wyoming riverbank. 

The coroner’s office is asking anyone with information about the man, the belongings found at the river or the circumstances surrounding his death to come forward.

For now, the young man remains where he has been for more than half a century, unidentified. 

Cold case big horn county 8 11 26

<title>Big Horn County Reopens Case Of Man Found Floating In Greybull River In 1973 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The Big Horn County Coroner's Office is reopening the cold case of a man found floating in the Greybull River near Basin in 1973. Investigators still don't know his name or how he died, but have released photos of what are thought to be his belongings.

Big Horn County Reopens Case Of Man Found Floating In Greybull River In 1973

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's Feature Reporter, Andrew Rossi.

Andrew Rossi

The Shoshone National Forest has reopened Brooks Lake Road near Dubois after a massive mudslide covered the road with mud, trees, and large boulders July 22.

The Wind River Ranger District had been working with a Dubois contractor, Peak Excavation, to make the most of an unexpected problem.

“We got the biggest culvert we could get within a reasonable amount of time to get the road back open,” said Jeff von Kienast, district ranger for the Wind River Ranger District. “We still have a little work to do, but the road’s open.”

That’s good news for Brooks Lake Lodge. The road is the only way to get to the lodge, but the Wind River Ranger District stepped up to ensure it didn’t lose any business.

“People book reservations at Brooks Lake Lodge up to a year ahead of time,” von Kienast said. “We allowed the lodge and a few commercial operators to keep going.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"One Way Only"}]

The Brooks Lake Road turns off U.S. Highway 26, 33 miles northwest of Dubois. It's the only way for vehicles to access Brooks Lake, the Brooks Lake and Pinnacle Campgrounds, and the lodge.

According to von Kienast, the debris flow occurred near a problematic spot known as the Pinnacles. It was caused by intense afternoon thunderstorms that saturated the slopes with moisture.

“The consistency of the material was like wet cement but with big boulders,” he said. “The drainage was 100 feet deep with mud. It plugged the old culvert and flowed over the road, blocking it entirely, and one of the boulders was half the size of the bulldozer we got to remove it.”

On July 23, Peak Excavation was called to clear the road. Coincidentally, they were ready to go on a moment’s notice.

“They happened to have a dozer loaded up on a lowboy, ready to go to another job,” von Kienast said. “When we called them, they headed that way immediately.”

With the dozer and other heavy equipment, Peak Excavation began clearing the road while the Wind River Ranger District started shopping for a new culvert.

Everyone involved understood the urgency. During the peak of the summer season, the last thing anyone wanted was the only road to Brooks Lake being inaccessible.

“There are trailheads and campgrounds back there,” von Kienast said. “People can go hiking, camping, or horseback riding. If there was a medical emergency, we’d need to be able to get to them. That’s why we keep the road closed except to a few groups and outfitters.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Shoshone Shuttle"}]

The staff and guests at Brooks Lake Lodge were concerned at first but were able to continue summer activities with relatively low impact.

“We heard it was washed out that evening,” said Natalie Pargenoni, the assistant manager of Brooks Lake Lodge. “Since it’s the Forest Service’s road, we got in contact with them, and they directed us about next steps.”

All outgoing guests were transported to Dubois by personnel with the ranger district. Then, to accommodate incoming reservations, the district  transported people to the lodge.

“They had 35 people show up in a big group,” von Kienast said. “When they came in a group, and they were all going to be at the lodge, we knew where they’d be in case of an emergency.

Pargenoni said the road-closing mudslide didn’t have any impact on the lodge, thanks to the assistance from the Wind River Ranger District. 

“We've been in constant communication with the Forest Service, so when we had a group come up, they let them pass through,” she said. “Everybody who had a reservation has been able to keep it, which was really nice.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Funding A Long-Term Solution"}]

Aside from some 30-minute delays anticipated this week, Brooks Lake Road is fully open to the public.

Peak Excavation is working on creating a dip in the newly repaired road that will allow future mudslides to flow over the road, making it easier to clear. They’re also placing riprap, heavy, unconsolidated material, that will prevent the road from eroding away.

For von Kienast, it was an excellent and rapid response to a short-term problem. Now, he’s thinking about the future.

“There’s a lot of material at the Pinnacles that’s eroding away,” he said. “To get them to mobilize and come all the way down that drainage takes quite a bit of rain, but who knows what size of material it could send down in the future?”

According to van Kienast, the Shoshone National Forest will probably seek federal funding for “a bigger fix.” That will need to be designed and engineered, which will take more time and resources, but should mitigate the impacts of future mudslides.

That would be more economical than building an entirely new road, but any bigger fix is still several years off.

What matters, in the meantime, is that the only road to Brooks Lake is open. 

“There's really no way to get in and out of there if that road's not open,” von Kienast said. “I’ve got a pretty good crew, and I'm really appreciative of everyone at Peak Excavation. We had to get that road open, and we did it.”

Mudslide brooks lake lodge 8 11 26

<title>After 18 Days, Road To Brooks Lake Lodge Finally Reopened After Massive Mudslide | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The road to Brooks Lake Lodge and campgrounds has reopened after an 18-day closure due to a massive slide that covered the road with 10 feet of mud, trees and boulders. The Wind River Ranger District shuttled guests to the lodge during the closure.

After 18 Days, Road To Brooks Lake Lodge Finally Reopened After Massive Mudslide

A Colorado man accused of leading a Wyoming state trooper on a 

 that ended with one of his passengers dead has been bound over to district court on aggravated homicide by vehicle and several other charges.

But a second-degree murder allegation — which carries a potential sentence of 20 years to life in prison — did not move forward with the case Monday.

James K. Moore, born in 1999, now faces aggravated homicide by vehicle involving DUI, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, along with property destruction, two aggravated fleeing charges, reckless driving and a taillight violation in connection with the July 23 crash south of Cheyenne.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"It Started With The Taillights"}]

Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper Brandon Todd spotted a white Hyundai traveling south on Interstate 25 in Laramie County at about 11:12 p.m. the night of the crash.

It had “no active taillights,” Todd wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.

The trooper caught up with the Hyundai and activated his emergency lights near Exit 7. At first, the car appeared as though it was going to pull over.

Instead, it went up the off-ramp, turned onto Clear Creek Parkway and accelerated.

Todd activated his siren and reported the Hyundai reaching speeds of more than 100 mph in a 45-mph zone.

About a minute into the pursuit, Todd saw what he described as a “small explosion” as the Hyundai crashed. He continued south but lost sight of the car.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Parking Lot"}]

Three minutes later, Todd found the mangled Hyundai in the parking lot of Simon at 6215 Clear Creek Parkway.

Moore was unconscious and unresponsive behind the wheel, still belted into the driver's seat, the affidavit says.

A second man was semi-conscious in the passenger seat with severe bruising on the right side of his face.

As Todd tried to speak with the men, Moore began itching his nose but would not respond to verbal commands. Todd also reported smelling a strong odor of a flavored alcoholic beverage coming from inside the vehicle.

Then the trooper began walking back through the debris field toward his patrol car.

At about 11:24 p.m., he found a third passenger, later identified as Christian Dawsey.

Dawsey was lying face down and had suffered injuries “not compatible with life,” Todd wrote.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Beer Cans, ‘Shooters’ And A Sex Toy"}]

The wreckage scattered across the parking lot offered investigators another look at what may have been happening inside the Hyundai before it crashed.

Todd reported finding empty beer cans and liquor “shooters” throughout the vehicle and debris field. A small red-and-clear alcoholic beverage was also found in the driver's side cup holder.

As investigators went through backpacks scattered in the wreckage, Todd reported finding fake urine and a sex toy.

Four days later, Todd learned Moore was on probation and said he believed the fake urine was intended to defeat urine tests required as part of that probation.

The next day, Todd contacted the Larimer County Probation Office in Colorado and was told Moore was on probation for felony menacing involving a real or simulated weapon. Moore's probation officer also told Todd that Moore was not permitted to be in Wyoming.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Blood Draw"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Emergency crews extricated Moore and the surviving passenger."}]

Because the crash involved a death and serious bodily injury, a blood sample was taken from Moore at about 11:43 p.m., the affidavit says.

[{"type":"text","text":"The court documents do not state the results of that blood test."}]

Moore was later flown by LifeFlight to Colorado for further medical care. The other man, from South Carolina, was taken by ground ambulance to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center.

Investigators estimated the 2025 Hyundai sustained between $13,180 and $18,180 in damage.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Charges Narrowed"}]

When Moore appeared in circuit court Aug. 3, Judge Nathaniel S. Hibbens set his bond at $100,000 cash only and appointed public defender Michael R. Vang to represent him.

At Monday's preliminary hearing, the court found probable cause to send six counts to district court: aggravated homicide by vehicle involving DUI; property destruction of $1,000 or more; two counts of aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude police, one involving bodily injury and another involving more than $10,000 in property damage; reckless driving; and a taillight violation.

If Moore is released, his bond conditions require mandatory drug testing and prohibit him from having contact with Dawsey's family.

Monday's bind-over is not a finding of guilt. It means the court found enough evidence to establish probable cause and send the case to Laramie County District Court, where Moore will be arraigned on those six counts. 

High Speed crash WHP 7 30 26

<title>Colorado Man Faces Aggravated Homicide Charge In Fatal 100-MPH Chase Near Cheyenne | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Colorado man accused of leading a Wyoming state trooper on a 100-mph chase that ended with one of his passengers dead has been bound over to district court on aggravated homicide by vehicle. Investigators found fake urine and a sex toy in the wreckage.

Colorado Man Faces Aggravated Homicide Charge In Fatal 100-MPH Chase Near Cheyenne

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's business and tourism reporter, Renée Jean

Renée Jean

Growing up, Texan James Neely had never heard of mountain man Jim Baker, who was a frontier scout, trapper and early non-Native settler with ties to both Colorado and Wyoming when the West was young.

A sister’s genealogy search changed all that a couple decades ago. On Saturday, he was among a handful of Baker descendants who gathered for a photo commemorating the Little Snake River Museum’s work to preserve the 

 cabin Baker built when he settled in present-day Savery in 1873.

Members of HistoriCorps and other volunteers in the Savery area spent last summer hand-hewing cottonwood logs to replace water-damaged logs at the cabin. The work is not finished, Little Snake River Museum Director Lela Emmons told Cowboy State Daily. 

Efforts are already underway to raise additional funds to keep the restoration going, and to source more of the huge cottonwood logs 

“There’s still another 10 or 12 logs we need to replace,” she said. “Getting those logs is the hardest part of the whole thing.”

Large cottonwood logs aren’t simply available at Home Depot or some other lumberyard.

“We have to find the right cottonwoods, get them milled,” she said. “And they’re so heavy, you can’t just lift them up. You have to hire a guy with a big backhoe or something who can lift them.”

Long before he built his cabin in Savery, Jim Baker led two dozen men in an 1841 fight that gave Battle Mountain its name. Now his far-flung descendants and a tiny museum are fighting time, money and rotten logs to save the frontier scout’s last home.

Daily Darwin: Wednesday, May 17, 2023

In case you missed it

More in Daily Darwin

Daily Darwin: Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Daily Darwin: Monday, August 10, 2026

Daily Darwin: Sunday, August 9, 2026

Daily Darwin: Saturday, August 8, 2026

Most read