The search for a missing Lander, Wyoming, man has intensified after his vehicle was discovered abandoned along a Utah interstate.
The discovery also leaves authorities and family with more questions about what might have happened to him as they turn to the public for help.
Brent Ronald Layman, 60, has been missing for more than a month after he mysteriously stopped communicating with family Dec. 10 and failed to show up for his job as a caregiver for people with special needs.
Layman was reported missing to the Lander Police Department on Dec. 18, according to Layman’s daughter, Tenaya Layman, who told Cowboy State Daily that she and her family are very concerned about their father’s lack of communication.
She said that’s completely out of character for a man who, until now, kept diligent contact with his family.
“He’s never done anything like this in the past, so it’s really troubling,” she said. “We’re incredibly worried about him and ask anyone with information to please contact police.”
LPD Detective Jesse Mattocks confirmed his department is actively investigating Layman’s disappearance but declined to provide additional details, citing an active investigation.
What We Know
Layman’s last known contact was a text exchange Dec. 10 between he and his oldest daughter, Shailee Layman Peters, in which he shared a photo of himself that she’d requested for a project she was working on.
Nothing about the exchange was out of the ordinary, according to Tenaya, who said her father was close with his six children and corresponded with them frequently.
Tenaya, who lives in Las Vegas, regularly spoke to her father on the phone several times a week.
The family was able to track his bank transactions with his last purchase made Dec. 10 at Walmart, where he’d bought a few things for his car, including a muffler. He’d just bought the Subaru in August and had repair work done to get ready for winter driving, Tenaya said.
Trip To Utah
Apart from the text between Layman and his daughter, there has been no further communication despite plans for them all to get together in Salt Lake City for an early Christmas celebration the weekend of Dec. 13.
The plan was for Layman to be picked up by his other daughter, McKayla Leonhardt, who lives in Casper. The two had hashed out a plan in advance, and Leonhardt had sent her father a text Dec. 11 to remind him of their plans, Tenaya said.
That text went unanswered.
When Leonhardt arrived in Lander early morning Dec. 13 to pick her father up, nobody was home. Likewise, he didn’t answer his cellphone or text her back.
After waiting for about an hour with no response, Leonhardt traveled on to Utah for the family celebration.
Though they found it odd their father was a no-show, they chalked it up to either a misunderstanding or figured he’d made other plans. They assumed he’d be in touch with them in a few days.
That never happened.
When Layman failed to contact anyone or return to his apartment, his family reported him missing Dec. 18 to Lander police, who initiated a welfare check before officially reporting him missing later that month.
In his Lander apartment, Layman’s suitcase was found packed and ready to go along with Christmas gifts stacked by the front door. His cat was also found, but there was no trace of Layman or any signs of disturbance, Tenaya said.
Car On The Side Of The Road
Unbeknownst at the time to Layman’s family or the Lander police, Layman’s Subaru had been found deserted alongside westbound Interstate 80 in Utah on Dec. 13.
The vehicle was located abandoned near mile marker 179 near Coalville with all four windows rolled down and Layman’s wallet and cellphone inside. Gone were the keys or any trace of Layman.
The Summit County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) was called to remove the vehicle because it was obstructing snow removal efforts, said Skyler Talbot, senior public affairs liaison for the sheriff’s office.
“As there was no owner or responsible party located to move the vehicle, deputies impounded the vehicle and requested it be towed,” Talbot wrote in a statement to Cowboy State Daily.
The vehicle remained impounded until the Lander Police Department contacted SCSO about the vehicle Dec. 27, Talbot said.
To his knowledge, Talbot said the vehicle remains in the tow yard in Utah. He further stated that the vehicle appeared operational without any obvious signs of disabling damage that may have been caused by a crash.
SCSO has offered to do digital forensics on the cellphone, Talbot said, which requires a search warrant.
Detective Mattocks of the Lander Police Department said search warrants are out, but declined to specify if they were related to the phone or other evidence.
The family of a Lander, Wyoming, man missing more than a month is growing more desperate to find him. His car was found in Utah, but there’s no other trace of Brent Layman. (Courtesy Photo) 
The family of a Lander, Wyoming, man missing more than a month is growing more desperate to find him. His car was found in Utah, but there’s no other trace of Brent Layman. (Courtesy Photo) 
The family of a Lander, Wyoming, man missing more than a month is growing more desperate to find him. His car was found in Utah, but there’s no other trace of Brent Layman. (Courtesy Photo)
Search Efforts
On Jan. 7, SCSO conducted a foot and drone aerial search of the area where Layman’s vehicle was found but turned up nothing.
Tenaya said that police told her that fresh snow had just fallen, and no footsteps or other evidence of her father was found.
Given the location of the vehicle along I-80 and the date it was found, it’s possible that her father may have been driving to meet the family in Salt Lake City, but that doesn’t explain why his luggage and presents were not with him in the car, she said.
She’s troubled by the fact that the windows were all rolled down in the middle of winter, she said.
No Signs Of Distress
Tenaya said that there was no indication that her father had been suffering a mental health break or any other medical issues. In fact, he had sounded great to her during their last conversation a day or so before he disappeared.
“He seemed to be in a really good, happy place,” she said, “unless he just wasn’t telling us.”
She said that he loved his job caring for people with special needs, a job he’d done for more than 30 years.
Despite his closeness with his six children, Tenaya acknowledged that her father was a very private person and may have been “dealing with stuff” of which the family was not aware.
She said in the past the longest that Layman has ever gone off the radar without talking to anyone was a week at most.
“He’s never done anything like this in the past, so it’s really concerning, really troubling,” she said.
Likewise, though he enjoys hiking and other outdoor activities, he would never venture off on his own in the middle of the winter, especially without his cellphone, she said.
She described her father as a “very friendly guy who is kind of shy at times” who loves “anything adventurous and fun.” He’s also committed to his children and two grandchildren and sees them any chance he gets, she said.
Tenaya and her family are asking for the public’s help in sharing any information about Layman’s disappearance or any potential sightings of him. Family members have been canvassing both Lander and Utah with missing person posters, she said.
“We love him very much and just want to find some kind of answer or clarity,” she said.
Layman is described as 6 feet, 2 inches tall with gray hair and blue eyes and weighing about 225 pounds. He was last seen wearing a dark-colored Nike ballcap, a blue shirt and a bronze or brass chain necklace.
Anyone with information is asked to call Mattocks at 307-332-3401 ext. 9 or email jmattocks@landerwyoming.org. People can also contact the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation at 307-777-7181 or submit an anonymous tip online.
Jen Kocher can be reached at jen@cowboystatedaily.com.
