A construction crew found a dead body Monday morning on private land south of Cheyenne, a top sheriff’s deputy said.
Laramie County Sheriff’s personnel are still investigating the discovery of the body, which appears to have spent “a substantial amount of time” among weather and wild animals, Chief Deputy Aaron Veldheer told Cowboy State Daily on Monday afternoon.
Laramie County Sheriff’s personnel responded to the discovery north of Terry Road at about 9:38 a.m. Monday, according to a Sheriff’s Office Facebook post.
“At this time, there is no threat to public safety,” the statement said.
Veldheer said sheriff’s agents are working with Laramie County Coroner Rebecca Reid’s office to recover the body, “with hopes of identifying who they are to get closure for their family.”
Veldheer said it’s unclear at this point whether the body belonged to a male or a female.
The reason the “recovery” has been a lengthy process is because the weather and/or wildlife have scattered portions of the body, Veldheer said.
The construction crew that found the body were mowing the field ahead of installing infrastructure in the area, he said, adding that the landowner is aware of the investigation and gave investigators permission to be on the land, but didn’t have any insight into the discovery.
This is not a “historic” or archeological find, said Veldheer.
'Skeleton Remains'
Reid was on scene Monday afternoon when she spoke with Cowboy State Daily about the discovery.
She said identifying the remains could take weeks or months.
“We’re dealing with skeleton remains here,” she said. “(This is) still in the first stages of investigation.”
Like Veldheer, Reid was clear that this is not an archeological dig. But she said she can’t narrow down whether the body has been exposed to the elements for weeks or months.
“The remains will be sent to a forensic anthropologist for review,” she said. “There’s not much I can release at this time.”
She declined to opine on whether this discovery aligns with any current missing persons cases in the area.
Missing Persons Cases
The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation had nine missing persons cases listed for Laramie County as of Monday afternoon.
The longest-running case is for Melanie Ehman, who went missing July 24, 2015 at the age of 58. She was last known to be driving a white dually truck with Florida plates. The truck was also pulling a white fifth-wheel camper with Florida plates, says the DCI database.
Other missing persons include:
• Silas Anthony Ojeda, who vanished at the age of 1 on Oct. 23, 2016, and is believed to be the victim of foul play.
• Joseph Nathaniel Paredes, who vanished Aug. 25, 2023, at the age of 30, the database says.
• James Eric Beckett, who went missing around March 1, 2024, at the age of 48. He was reported missing Aug. 15.
• Shanna Janene Brubaker, 38, who is listed as missing after her last sighting on April 29.
• Roy Arthur Moates, 59, who was last seen May 18.
• Larry Kimball, 56, who was last seen May 19.
• Robert Alan Schuler, 59, who was last seen Sept. 9.
• Alyssa Jaylee Paull, 20, who was last seen Sept. 22.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
