You Still Here

[{"type":"text","text":"Now let's all find out what a chicken prefers to seat: seeds or KFC."}]

You still here 2 10 24

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

<title>You Still Here? Saturday, February 10, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Now let's all find out what a chicken prefers to seat: seeds or KFC.

You Still Here? Saturday, February 10, 2024

 Now let's all find out what a chicken prefers to seat: seeds or KFC.

Jen kocher

Jen Kocher

Crime & Courts

Public Safety

Bill Dohse was somewhere north of Billings, Montana, when he got the call Sunday that the body had been found.

As he always does while enroute to a search and rescue mission, Dohse pulled his pickup over on the side of the highway and stepped into the makeshift command center attached to his back bumper to start fielding phone calls.

While he wasn’t at the site of the search yet, his team was already busy coordinating where those on the ground should search for Brown’s body, leading to Sunday's sad conclusion.

He had been on his way to Oroville, Washington, to join the search for 42-year-old Matt Brown, former reality television star of Discovery Chanel’s “Alaskan Bush People.”

Brown had been missing since May 27, when he had reportedly taken his own life on the edge of the Okanogan River before being swiftly swept downstream in remote north-central Washington state near the Canadian border.

Dohse got word from search and rescue volunteer Chay Moore, who was on site at the river, when they discovered Brown’s body in the swift rapids.

The emotional gravity of that moment would catch up to all of them later, Dohse said.

At that time, it was all business. They had to notify the Okanogan Sheriff’s Office and safely recover the body as they waited for authorities to arrive.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Family Grieves"}]

Brown’s brother Noah was also on site when Matt Brown’s body was pulled from the water, and he identified him for authorities.

Another brother, Bear, who was not at the scene, took to social media early Sunday to share the sad news with fans.

 posted Sunday that it appeared that Matt had taken his own life.

"I would have never suspected he would have hurt himself, honestly,” Bear said. “He struggled for a long time, as I've mentioned.

“And I was so worried he was going to end up, you know, like, OD'd or something like that.”

Matt Brown was the oldest of Billy and Ami Brown’s seven children and starred alongside his family in the reality television series, which followed their attempts to survive in the remote Alaskan wilderness, 

The show ran for 14 seasons over the course of eight years before ending in 2022.

[{"type":"text","text":"Matt Brown stepped down in 2019 amid struggles with addiction."}]

After leaving television, Matt Brown turned to YouTube, documenting his life, recovery, and personal reflections across more than 1,000 videos.

[{"type":"text","text":"He amassed more than 65,000 subscribers and nearly 8 million views."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"No Official Cause"}]

The Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office put out a statement on May 31 confirming that Brown had been found.

The office further stated that the cause and manner of death is under investigation by the Okanogan County Coroner.

According to earlier statements from the sheriff, a witness reported seeing a man seated in the river’s shallows on May 27.

The witness looked away, then heard a loud noise. When looking back, the man was floating face-down in the current. A firearm was later recovered near the spot.

The search for Brown went on for three days and included a boat, two Jet Skis and a drone, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office, but those efforts hampered due to severe weather that led to dangerous search conditions with high water levels, swift currents and low visibility.

His body was ultimately found by volunteers searches who had been dispatched by Dohse and his team.

He and Eric Butt are co-founders of Organized Search and Rescue (OSAR), a volunteer nonprofit that partners with search and rescue and K-9 teams from all over the country, the United Cajun Navy, Sparks SAR, Team Texas K-9, and Sentinel Overwatch, which all coordinated on the search for Brown.

Both Dohse and Butt also run their own nonprofits.

Dohse, a former Fremont County Deputy Sheriff and Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper, heads up Find-911, a Cody-based search and rescue group founded in 2015 that specializes in finding missing people and pets.

Along with K-9 teams, Dohse uses specialized drones with advanced imaging software called Sixth Sense that he developed with the help of Amazon and Denver-based Clouse 303.

He’s been involved in several searches in Wyoming, including the 

search for missing 22-year-old hiker Austin King

, who vanished after summitting Eagle Peak in Yellowstone National Park in September 2024.

helped lead local efforts to find 50-year-old David Kelsey

, who went missing in late January and was found dead more than a week later in nearby Beck Lake.

Butt is chief executive officer at California-based nonprofit 

, which provides advanced medical care and technical rescues for wildland fire fighters and federal agencies.

They formed the collaboration two years ago with the goal of building a national coalition to help deploy specialized search and rescue groups that can quickly deploy in situations such as this one to help law enforcement.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Perfect Scenario"}]

Searches like this one perfectly fit their mission because of the remote location with limited search and rescue assets and resources.

“It’s in our wheelhouse,” Butt said. “This was why I was eager to jump on this case.”

Butt had his plane ticket bought and was just hours from heading to the airport to fly to Washington when news came that Brown had been found.

Forget that it was his birthday and that he was in the middle of celebrating with his family.

This is what they are compelled to do, he said. They don’t mind dropping everything to assist in these searches.

Dohse, meanwhile, pulled over in Montana to aid in the operation as all the partners communicated over chat and phone during Brown’s recovery.

He spends a lot of time on the side of the road and stops when needed to mobilize his group’s resources.

In fact, two days earlier, he’d been on his way to Thermopolis to aid in the search for a missing woman who was later found safe when word that Brown had been swept down the river.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Inside Track"}]

Dohse knew friends of the Brown family from other rescue efforts, which is how he initially got involved.

They decided to jump on this case because they had confirmation and eye-witnesses who saw Brown go into the river and knew he could be found.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"He also knew who to call."}]

Dohse set up his portable incident command trailer and spent about six hours on the phone and computer mobilizing assets and downloading CalTopo maps of the river and region and coordinating with all their search and rescue members.

Butt said that Dohse was able to determine where on the river he thought Brown’s body might be based on currents and sand bars, which helped searchers find him.

This is the whole point of OSAR, Dohse said, which is to form working collaborations to find specialized and trusted assets who can get there quickly and with the skillsets needed for that particular situation.

“We want to bridge that gap between private and government entities,” Butt said. “We want to work real closely with law enforcement, so that they don’t feel like we’re going to come in and steal their thunder.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘It’s Super Sad’"}]

In this case, they got lucky because they had a skilled search and rescue professional, Moore, who lives about an hour and a half from the area and was able to get there quickly.

Dohse made it clear that this is very much a group effort and couldn’t be done without everyone stepping in to do their part.

Not all searches end in a recovery, Butt noted, so this is the rare case where it’s cause for celebration despite the reality of the end goal mission.

Dohse admitted that the emotional aspect of finding Brown is tough, particularly when it comes to communicating with his brothers and family who are understandably devastated by their loss.

“It’s super sad,” Dohse said, admitting he had tears in his eyes when communicating with the sheriff and Brown’s family.

Still, it’s the wins that keep them going and the knowledge that they were able to bring a loved one home.

Matt Brown find 911 6 1 26

<title>Cody-Based Search And Rescue Team Helps Find Body Of ‘Alaskan Bush People’ Star | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Cody-based search and rescue team helped coordinate the search for the body of “Alaskan Bush People” star Matt Brown. Brown’s body was found Sunday after he went missing four days earlier after allegedly shooting himself along a Washington state river.

Cody-Based Search And Rescue Team Helps Find Body Of ‘Alaskan Bush People’ Star

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

A 56-year-old Centennial, Wyoming, man died after slipping on steep terrain while hiking near the Falls Overlook in Albany County.

Michael Werkeiser was descending into a narrow crevice when he fell into Mullen Creek, according to a Saturday report from the Albany County Sheriff’s Office. 

Werkeiser is believed to have suffered a head injury during the Friday fall, which resulted in him becoming unconscious. He became trapped in the fast-flowing water.

Another member of his hiking group immediately went into the creek after him in an attempt to save Werkeiser, the sheriff’s office reports.

Albany County deputies were dispatched to the Falls Overlook area on Forest Service Road 307 at 7:47 p.m. Friday after receiving a 911 text message.

Werkeiser was still alive at that time, but was unconscious and having difficulty breathing, the text said. Emergency communication continued via text message because of the remote location and lack of cellular service.

Members of the Albany County Sheriff's Office's High Angle Rescue Team, Albany County Search and Rescue, Laramie Fire Department and Centennial Volunteer Fire Department coordinated a complex rescue effort. 

Responders rappelled about 30 feet into Mullen Creek to reach and recover both Werkeiser and the hiking companion who had gone into the creek after him.

Werkeiser was pronounced dead at the scene, and the person in the water with him was released after refusing medical treatment.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'He Would Give You the Shirt Off His Back'"}]

People took to social media following the accident to remember Werkeiser as an adventurer and a “salt-of-the-earth” person.

For Teresa and Kirk Strom, memories of Werkeiser are forever tied to one of the most unusual days of their lives — their wedding atop Devils Tower in 1994.

The Stroms had met Werkeiser through a tight-knit group of rock climbers in Laramie in the early 1990s. 

When the couple decided to get married, they skipped the traditional church ceremony and opted instead for a low-budget adventure befitting a group of recent college graduates. They climbed Devils Tower and handed out flyers inviting friends to join them on the summit.

“We ended up with about 18 or 19 people on top,” Teresa Strom recalled. “Mike was one of the friends that summited Devil’s Tower with us.”

A local minister agreed to climb up and perform the ceremony, turning the mountaintop gathering into what Strom remembers as a remarkable celebration among friends. 

Werkeiser was there for all of it, along with several friends who had traveled from Pennsylvania.

[{"type":"text","text":"“It was a pretty big deal,” she said."}]

Strom described Mike as the kind of person who never hesitated to help others. 

“He was a good guy. He’d give you the shirt off his back,” she said. 

Even when years passed between visits, reconnecting with him felt effortless, she said, adding that “there could be a lapse in seeing him, but you’d never feel that distance.”

Over the years, Werkeiser joined the Stroms on numerous outdoor adventures. They fished, camped, mountain biked and snowboarded together. 

“Mostly, he just hung out with us,” Strom said with a laugh. “Mike was up for anything.”

Werkeiser originally came to Wyoming as a truck driver, but quickly found a community among the state’s climbers and outdoor enthusiasts, Stom said. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Before long, he decided to stay. "}]

[{"type":"text","text":"“I think he fell in love with Wyoming and found his home,” she said."}]

After learning of his death, Strom found herself digging through old boxes and trunks, searching for photographs from that long-ago wedding on top of Devils Tower. 

She said she plans to share them with his family — snapshots of a friend who was there for one of life’s biggest moments and who remained part of their circle for decades afterward.

Medicine bow 6 1 26

<title>Wyoming Hikers Unable To Resuscitate Centennial Man Who Died After Fall Into River | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A 56-year-old Centennial man died Friday after slipping on steep terrain and falling into Mullen Creek in Albany County. He is believed to have suffered a head injury in the fall and then became trapped in the fast-flowing water.

Wyoming Hikers Unable To Resuscitate Centennial Man Who Died After Fall Into River

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

A Torrington family is in shock after finding their mutilated dogs partially submerged in the North Platte River outside of Torrington.

Angelica Garcia told Cowboy State Daily on Monday that two rottweilers owned by her parents had gotten loose from their home Friday and hours later were found dead by a woman and her son who were walking by a popular fishing spot on the river.

Garcia said the discovery of the two dogs named Django and Hera left her stunned.

"The top of Django's head was gone and Hera's neck and chest were gone," Garcia said.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"They were family dogs. I trusted them around my kids,\" she added."}]

Goshen County Sheriff Kory Fleenor confirmed Monday that his office has an open investigation into the incident. 

He declined to comment on whether investigators have determined a cause of death, whether any suspects or persons of interest have been identified, or what evidence investigators have gathered, citing the active nature of the case.

Garcia said her parents last saw the dogs late Friday morning after letting them outside near their Torrington home.

The two rottweilers, a brother and sister who were both nearly 6 years old, had occasionally gotten loose before and were familiar to many people in town, Garcia said.

When her father realized the dogs had not returned, he began searching for them. A short time later, the family learned the dogs had been found dead near the North Platte River.

[{"type":"text","text":"Questions Remain "}]

Garcia said her family believes the dogs were unlawfully killed and wants investigators to thoroughly examine what happened.

She said relatives have searched for information, spoken with people in the area where the dogs were found and tried to learn whether anyone witnessed the incident.

[{"type":"text","text":"So far, she said, they have found no eyewitnesses."}]

"We're drawing a blank as to what happened," Garcia said. "Or why it happened." She added that on top of being concerned the dogs were shot, she's concerned "it happened in the city." 

 that accuses authorities of not doing enough to investigate the deaths.

"Whoever did this brutally murdered these dogs, took their collars and drug them off and dumped their bodies in the river," the petition reads.

"There is a lead and law enforcement is refusing to look further and do their job," it reads.

The Torrington Police Department also responded after the dogs were found, according to Garcia. 

She said city police helped direct the case to the sheriff's office because the location where the dogs were discovered fell under county jurisdiction.

Torrington Police Chief Matt Johnson did not return a request for comment.

[{"type":"text","text":"A Gruesome Discovery"}]

Garcia began to choke up when she described the condition of the dogs and added the collars on the dogs were missing.

[{"type":"text","text":"The family believes the dogs were killed with a shotgun. "}]

One question repeatedly raised online is whether Wyoming law allows people to shoot dogs under certain circumstances.

 does permit dogs to be killed if they are running livestock and the livestock has been injured or is threatened with injury. The law also shields the person who kills the dog from liability if the danger or damage can be shown.

So far, however, authorities have not publicly indicated whether livestock played any role in the deaths of Django and Hera.

The dogs were known to "get out," said Garcia, "and they would kind of roam around, but nobody ever really made a big deal about it." 

"They would just call the dog catcher or local PD, and they would tend to joke about it, like they're just really nice dogs, and you know, even when they picked them up, the dog catcher was appalled at what happened, because she knew them, you know," she said.

Garcia added that she doesn't think the dogs were bothering livestock, "They would never go after cattle or anything like that." 

Rottweilers 6 1 26

<title>Torrington Family Says Rottweilers Were Mutilated And Dumped In The River  | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Torrington family is in shock after finding their mutilated dogs partially submerged in the North Platte River. Angelica Garcia said one dog's head was removed and the other was missing its neck and chest. "They were family dogs," she said.

Torrington Family Says Rottweilers Were Mutilated And Dumped In The River 

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's general assignment reporter, Clair McFarland.

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

In the first significant poll of Wyoming’s primary election season, Secretary of State Chuck Gray leads a crowded GOP U.S. House race with 21% support.

Casper businessman Reid Rasner is second at 14%, Teton County philanthropist Steve Friess at 10%, former Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow at 8%, and state Senate President Bo Biteman at 7%, according to a poll memo Gray sent to Cowboy State Daily.

The poll also shows 33% of those surveyed are “hard undecided.”

Fabrizio, Lee & Associates, a survey and research firm that ran polls for President Donald Trump’s campaigns,

 compiled the poll of 400 Wyoming Republican voters from May 13-16.

Casper-based veteran Kevin Christensen followed at 5%, with Moran rancher Frank Chapman at 1% and David Giralt at less than 1%.

The poll lists former state Rep. John Romero-Martinez at less than 1%, but Romero-Martinez did not register to run for the seat by Friday’s 5 p.m. deadline. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"But What ‘Information’?"}]

The pollster’s methodology says the survey 

 gave voters “information” about Gray, Rasner and Friess. 

Gray told Cowboy State Daily on Monday that the “information” included “different points on our records” but upon inquiry, he did not list those points by publication time.  

 jumped to 48% over “hard undecided” at 22%, with Rasner and Friess falling to 3% and 6% respectively.

Balow, whose record was apparently not included in the “information” discussion with each voter, rose to second place in the post-information survey at 8%.

“Chuck Gray is currently best positioned to win this race,” the pollster’s memo asserts.

Half the survey recipients were male, half were female, and 90% were white, says the poll memo.

“This race is about focusing on the truth — my track record of advancing the America First, conservative priorities of the people of Wyoming and my record of getting those priorities to the finish line,” wrote Gray in a statement. 

“I do not back down, even in the face of false attacks from insiders and the radical Left. That is what the people of Wyoming want, and that is why we are in a strong  lead,” he added.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Kinda Early"}]

Rob Wallace, a longtime Wyoming politico, cast skepticism on a poll conducted so early in the race.

The filing period for candidates ended Friday, and the primary election is Aug. 18.

Wallace served as assistant secretary to the U.S. 

nterior during the first Trump administration and years prior worked multiple political campaigns as an advisor for the late U.S. Sen. Malcolm Wallop. 

He also ran for Congress in 1994 and finished second in a crowded primary to Rep. Barbara Cubin.

“Polling this early in the campaign is like endorsements,” he said. “It’s good to have favorable information, but the real part of the race isn’t going to get going until probably after the Fourth of July.”

Wallace also hesitated to attach significance to the poll since the “information" the Fabrizio team gave voters is unknown.

“Without really understanding all the pieces of the poll, it’s hard to give a complete assessment of what it means,” he said.

Now that the filing period has ended, the other nine candidates in 

 are going to burst into public view as much as they can, Wallace said.

Between the poll and the filing deadline, two more candidates registered: Keith Goodenough and Richard Dodson.

[{"type":"text","text":"That puts the primary race at 10 contenders."}]

Whoever wins that race will have to face the Democratic candidate, plus the Libertarian nominee Shawn Johnson, who gained momentum when his party selected him unanimously at its Sunday convention.

“There are a couple reasons for putting a favorable poll out” at this phase, said Wallace. One reason could be to dissuade others from running; and another could be to reassure one’s base and supporters.

“It’s like a good-news story for the people you want to attract,” he added.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Hey, Trump"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The big unknown, said Wallace, is what Trump will do."}]

The president has endorsed Megan Degenfelder for governor over her GOP opponents.

[{"type":"text","text":"He has not endorsed anyone in the crowded U.S. House primary race."}]

Friess, Rasner, Gray, Balow, and Biteman all have dispatched messaging indicating alignment with Trump.

Rasner and Gray tout themselves as MAGA-style candidates. Biteman has for years had a collaborative relationship with the president. And Friess reportedly helped Trump formulate executive orders ahead of his 2017 inauguration.

Christensen is a strong outlier there: he condemned the president’s April social media post of an AI-generated image depicting Trump as a Jesus-like figure, healing an ailing man while others circle him in gestures of prayer.

A Trump endorsement, said Wallace, “could be a game-changer if he decides to do it. And maybe he won’t — maybe he won’t endorse anybody.”

Chuck Gray 6 1 26

<title>Chuck Gray Leads U.S. House Poll With 21%, Followed By Rasner And Friess | Cowboy State Daily</title>

In the first significant poll of Wyoming’s primary election season, Secretary of State Chuck Gray leads a crowded GOP U.S. House race with 21% support. Casper businessman Reid Rasner is second at 14%, and Teton County's Steve Friess is third at 10%.

Chuck Gray Leads U.S. House Poll With 21%, Followed By Rasner And Friess

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily reporter, Dale Killingbeck

Dale Killingbeck

Wyoming Life

It was 80 years ago that Cheyenne’s mayor and police chief were convicted of running a protection racket and extorting black bar owners. "You have to pay us. If you don’t pay us we are going to shut down your business,” federal agents recorded them saying.

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