The Jackson Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating a local hotel employee who disappeared under mysterious circumstances a month ago.
Braigene Marcel Collins, 30, of Pennsylvania was last heard from Sept. 14 when she called in sick to her shift at the 49’er Inn & Suites in Jackson where she’d worked as a guest service agent for the past year.
Hotel Manager Kirsten Eubank began to get worried when Collins also failed to show up the following day, a Sunday, without contacting her or other staff.
Though Collins had a history of calling in sick to work, Eubank said that Collins was always responsive in the past and would always contact someone to say she wouldn't be in to work that day.
Eubank tried texting Collins on her scheduled days off the following Monday and Tuesday but received no response.
Finally on Tuesday afternoon, Eubank was concerned enough to alert human resources and the maintenance department to do a welfare check on Collins in her employer-provided, on-site housing.
According to Eubank, Collins was very private and didn’t divulge any details of her personal life.
Mysterious Disappearance
Collins was not in the room nor was her cellphone or purse, including her wallet and Pennsylvania-issued ID card.
Odder yet, Eubank told Cowboy State Daily, were the items Collins left behind, including the water bottles she used for work, a notebook filled with creative writing and her clothing packed in white trash bags on the floor.
Something just felt off, Eubank said.
She further stated that Collins had not indicated to anyone on staff that she planned to leave town, nor did she own her own vehicle.
In fact, Eubank overheard Collins tell a co-worker that she planned to be there all weekend and was excited to see her co-worker’s dog.
Upon finding her empty room, Eubank continued to text and call Collins, who did not respond, which is completely out of character, Eubank said. Her calls went straight to voicemail.
It was worrying enough that Eubank reported her missing to the Jackson Police Department on Sept. 19.
Warrant For Her Phone
Heidi Schmidl with the Jackson Police Department said she called Collins’ family in Pennsylvania but was told they haven’t heard or spoken to Collins in nearly a decade.
Schmidl also reached out to Collins’ former employers listed on her resume and learned she has a history of working in resort towns.
Prior to moving to Jackson, Collins worked at a resort in Big Sky, Montana, and the former employer had glowing things to say about Collins, Schmidl said.
She’s now working on getting a search warrant to ping Collins’ phone, Schmidl said, which will be the next step taken by the department.
In the meantime, police are eager to get word out to make sure Collins is safe and there is no foul play surrounding her mysterious disappearance.
Collins is described as described as being 5 feet, 6 inches tall and about 135 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes with an uneven skin pigmentation and is known to wear a black, curly shoulder-length wig.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Heidi Schmidl with the Jackson Police Department at 307-733-1430 ext. 1217. Tips can also be reported anonymously on the DCI website.
Third Person Missing From Teton County
Collins is one of three people currently listed missing in Teton County, according to the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation’s missing person database.
Another person is 42-year-old James Daniels Jr. Daniels had been living in Teton County but disappeared in Arizona in 2021 while helping a friend move from Nevada to Mississippi, according to the Charley Project, a nonprofit missing person site.
Daniels had been driving in a separate vehicle when one of the vehicles got a flat tire between Kingman and Wickenburg, Arizona, and the friend went to Wickenburg to get help and Daniels remained behind with his dog, Penny, according to information from the Charley Project.
Four witnesses reporting seeing a disoriented Daniels on the side of the road on U.S. Highway 93 in Yavapai County, Arizona, between 3 and 4 a.m. on Aug. 22, 2021.
The Charley Project further reports that by the time an Arizona State Trooper arrived on scene, Daniels was gone and the trooper witnessed Penny running off into the desert.
Also missing from Teton County is Katherine Schupp Major, who was last seen leaving her hotel in September 2009.
Major, then 53, was known to suffer from bi-polar disorder and was last seen leaving the Four Seasons Resort in Teton Village where she left behind several belongings, including her purse.
Anyone with information on either of these missing people is asked to contact the Teton County Sheriff at 307-773-2332 or DCI at 307-777-7181.
Jen Kocher can be reached at jen@cowboystatedaily.com.
