As the search for a missing Wyoming, woman is in its fifth day in the rugged Yellow Hammer Buttes area southeast of Gillette, the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office is pushing back on the local rumor mill about what might have happened to Tami Sturgeon, 55.
The sheriff’s office released its first press release on the ongoing search effort, which includes multiple agencies, techniques and equipment.
It also has a strong message that foul play is not suspected in Sturgeon’s disappearance at this time and that any speculation otherwise is irresponsible.
“Deputies have been on the scene since Saturday evening, utilizing all available county resources,” Undersheriff Quentin Reynolds says in the Thursday statement.
“Additional manpower and resources from Weston, Crook, Johnson, Sheridan, and Natrona counties have also been generously donated to aid in the search effort. The Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigation is assisting with phone location tracking and technical expertise as per standard protocol for missing person cases," it reads.
Sturgeon went missing while searching for her phone. It was later found on the side-by-side she had been using that day with her husband.
After several hours and no sign of his wife, her husband left the area to call Campbell County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch at 6:55 p.m. Saturday.
No Foul Play
After five days of searching, the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office is still approaching the effort as a search and rescue operation, hoping that Sturgeon will be found alive. They also addressed ongoing rumors alleging foul play.
“It is important to emphasize that this remains a search and rescue operation,” Reynolds said. “There is no evidence to suggest Tami was harmed, and rumors to the contrary are unhelpful. Tami's husband and family are cooperating fully and actively assisting in the search.”
Campbell County Sheriff’s Office Operations Division Capt. Eric Seeman said the same to Cowboy State Daily. Searchers remain “optimistic” that Sturgeon would be rescued, and nothing suggested anything nefarious.
“The family is completely cooperative,” he said. “We have no reason to believe we're dealing with anything other than a missing hiker.”
Searching For Any Sign
There wasn’t much more for the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office to say on the search for Sturgeon. The only clues recovered in four days of looking were her missing phone, a shoe print, and a cigarette butt recovered from an area she had been in earlier that day.
“The ever-changing weather conditions this week have presented challenges for search teams, who have had to adapt their strategies accordingly,” Reynolds said. “Initial search efforts, which included thermal imaging, drones, helicopters and canines, did not locate Tami. Searchers are now conducting a meticulous grid search of the area.”
Private and public land have been included in the search, and everyone who’s been approached has been cooperative. The department is also discouraging anyone from conducting their own searches for Sturgeon to maintain coordination between personnel in the field.
“To ensure a coordinated and respectful effort, the public is asked to refrain from independent searches,” the department says. “Please contact the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office to inquire about ways to assist; this helps to guarantee search efforts remain coordinated, respects the family and landowners, and saves valuable time.”
Searching Thursday is restricted to more grid searches of the area, and there is no indication of how long the current effort will continue nor when, or if, it will transition from rescue to recovery.
“We are still in a search and rescue mission mode,” Seeman said. “We certainly try to keep optimistic.”
More Coverage
Few Clues On Fourth Day Of Search For Missing Gillette Woman
Searchers Recover Missing Gillette Woman’s Cellphone, But No Sign Of Her
Search Intensifies, But Still No Sign Of Missing Gillette Woman
Helicopter, Drones Called In To Search For Missing Wyoming Woman
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
