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<title>One More For The Road: Friday, April 11, 2025 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

One More For The Road: Friday, April 11, 2025

 Due to her success as a DoorDash driver, Cowboy State Daily's Wendy Corr was offered a new job driving a dump truck....

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

Courts

A Washington man is facing 14 wildlife-related criminal charges in Campbell County after Wyoming investigators say years-old Instagram videos, voice messages and cellphone data uncovered evidence of alleged illegal hunting trips that stretched back more than a decade.

Court records filed in Campbell County allege Bobby Chuck Ephrem, 48, illegally killed antelope and mule deer in Wyoming in 2014, 2015 and 2020, sometimes from vehicles, sometimes without licenses and at least once using a .22-caliber pistol that investigators say was illegal for taking big game.

The charges stem from an Idaho wildlife investigation that eventually led Wyoming Game and Fish investigators to social media posts, archived videos and cellphone extractions that they say show hunting activity in Campbell County.

An arrest warrant was issued June 4, 2025. Ephrem later appeared in Campbell County Circuit Court for an initial appearance on Tuesday, where bond was set at $75,000. Court records show he posted a surety bond on Wednesday.

As a condition of release, Ephrem is not allowed to leave Campbell County and is barred from hunting, fishing, trapping, collecting shed antlers or accompanying anyone engaged in hunting or fishing activities while the case is pending.

A voicemail seeking comment from the Campbell County Attorney's Office was not returned before publication.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Case Built From Phones And Social Media"}]

The investigation began in April 2024 when Idaho conservation officers shared information uncovered during an ongoing wildlife investigation, according to an affidavit filed by Wyoming Game and Fish Investigator Daniel Beach.

Investigators say Instagram videos, voice messages, and other evidence pointed them toward multiple incidents involving antelope and mule deer.

Beach wrote that he later traveled to Oregon in June 2024 to assist Oregon State Police while that agency executed a search warrant at Ephrem's home.

During the search and interview, investigators say Ephrem talked about several mounted animals displayed in his home and admitted to killing some of them in Wyoming.

The affidavit shows Wyoming investigators subsequently reviewed cellphone extraction data, Instagram videos and archived voice messages that they believe corroborated those admissions.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'No Permission, Just Shoot'"}]

Some of the most serious allegations center on an October 2020 antelope hunt in Campbell County.

Investigators discovered Instagram voice messages sent from Ephrem's account that referenced plans to hunt antelope in Wyoming.

One message cited in the charging documents read, "We're going antelope hunting today."

Another allegedly said, "No, just drive around and shoot shit. No permission, just shoot."

Investigators say they later identified the location shown in one of the videos as private property owned by Peabody Caballo Mining LLC south of Gillette.

Neither the company nor the rancher leasing the pasture granted permission for the hunting activity depicted in the videos, wrote Beach. 

In another video, investigators say Ephrem can be seen firing a rifle at antelope from inside a vehicle. 

Investigators also allege the video showed Ephrem handing the rifle to a younger passenger.

The charging documents include allegations of wanton destruction of antelope, taking big game from a vehicle, trespassing to hunt and accessory counts connected to those offenses.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The .22-Caliber Pistol Allegation"}]

A separate video described in the affidavit forms the basis for another series of charges.

Investigators say the recording showed Ephrem driving a Dodge Ram pickup while firing a pistol at multiple antelope from the roadway and adjacent ditch.

Beach wrote they later determined the firearm appeared to be a GSG 1911-style .22-caliber pistol, and that Ephrem fired 10 rounds at several antelope from close range.

During a June 2024 interview, Ephrem said, "I remember shooting, yes, got it.'" 

The case includes charges alleging illegal use of a firearm for taking big game, wanton destruction and taking big game from a vehicle.

Investigators also allege another man, who they say appeared in some of the videos, later confirmed witnessing portions of the hunt during a recorded interview.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Allegations Reach Back To 2014"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The investigation didn't stop with the 2020 videos."}]

Cellphone data allegedly connected Ephrem to an antelope killed in 2015 and a mule deer killed in 2014.

Beach wrote that Ephrem admitted during a 2024 interview to those killings. 

Wyoming licensing records showed Ephrem did not possess licenses for those species during the years in question, says investigators, and that Ephrem improperly used or transferred hunting licenses connected to his son during some of the incidents.

Cellphone photographs, taxidermy records and statements made during interviews were used to support those allegations.

The charges remain allegations. Ephrem has not been convicted, and the case will proceed through Wyoming's court system. His next expected appearance will be held within about 10 days for a preliminary hearing. 

Campell county pronghorn 4 5 26

<title>'No Permission, Just Shoot': Instagram Videos Lead To Wyoming Poaching Charges | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Washington man faces 14 Wyoming poaching-related charges after Game and Fish investigators say Instagram videos and phone data exposed illegal hunts over more than 10 years. “No permission, just shoot,” the man messaged, Game and Fish says.

'No Permission, Just Shoot': Instagram Videos Lead To Wyoming Poaching Charges

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's managing editor, Greg Johnson.

Greg Johnson

Government & Politics

Politics

CHEYENNE — Data centers and Wyoming’s role in hosting them are greater than a local issue for communities debating whether they want that development or not; they represent a national security issue the state’s next governor needs to address.

That’s one of the main takeaways from a crowded Republican gubernatorial candidate forum Friday afternoon.

“We are in an AI arms race with China, and President Trump has been very bullish on data center development,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder. “We have some resources here in the state of Wyoming to keep them going.”

She said she shares the concerns people in Cheyenne, Evanston, Casper and Laramie have already expressed about water usage and how data centers could impact power rates.

The answer isn’t banning data centers, she said, it’s “ensuring there is not water usage pulling from our resources … and making sure that we do not have utility rate (increases) that are on the backs of Wyoming people.”

She was on stage in the Grand Ballroom at Little America in Cheyenne with Republican primary opponents Brent Bien and Eric Barlow for a forum hosted by the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce.

Bien said that as he’s been traveling around Wyoming, “the vast majority of the folks are opposed to these, and I mean, they’re popping up all over the place.”

A career military man who spent 28 years in the Marines, and ran unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination for governor in 2022, said people are afraid of data centers because they don’t understand or trust them.

“I think what’s going on here is that the people have been left out of the loop,” Bien said. “And ultimately, it does comes down to the people.”

“If people are brought into the equation early and they understand what’s going on, then I do believe they’ll be far more receptive.”

State Sen. Eric Barlow, R-Gillette, echoed some of what Bien said about people’s fear of data centers.

A lot of those concerns are being addressed by the rapidly evolving technology that’s being built into data centers, Barlow said, referencing how directional drilling revolutionized the oil and gas industry.

[{"type":"text","text":"He also said that AI isn’t coming, it’s here."}]

“You have to think about what’s driving the demand” for data centers, said Barlow, a veterinarian who also served in the Marine Corps. “We’re part of the demand. Consumerism is part of the demand.

“Those rectangular devices some of you are looking at right now? That’s part of the demand, whether you’re asking it to do something artificially and intelligent — and I don’t know if those two words should go together.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Follow The Money"}]

Moderated by chamber chairman and Cheyenne Regional Medical Center President and CEO Tim Thornell, Friday’s forum featured three of the four registered Republicans on the primary ballot.

More than 300 people were packed into the ballroom to listen to the candidates address questions prepared by the chamber of commerce. Each had up to three minutes to respond.

When asked what Thornell admitted was a “loaded question” about how Wyoming should spend its money, all three expressed a need to be careful and frugal.

“We need to make sure we fund those essential services of government,” said Bien, who also said he drove the ballot initiative on this year’s ballot that, if passed, will allow people to claim up to 50% of their property tax bills as exempt.

“The largest budget in our state history just recently passed, you know, and we got to figure out where’s all this money actually going,” he said. “Is it really being spent on those essential services that we have out there?

“We know that there’s a lot of nonessential things that are out there.”

He claimed that residential property taxes are up 73% in Wyoming over the last six years, making it impossible for people to keep their homes or buy homes.

“The bottom line is that I’m more concerned about people staying in their homes than I am some of these frivolous things that we end up talking about across the state,” Bien said.

Barlow reminded the crowd that some of what Wyoming spends is constitutionally required, like education and public safety.

He also pointed out that minerals like coal, oil and natural gas “are paying 50% of (the state’s) bills on a daily basis.”

The Legislature also put money in savings this past session, and that money and the interest off it “is actually paying for 30% of our bills for the state of Wyoming,” Barlow said. “Think about that.”

Degenfelder, who was endorsed by President Trump in her bid to become governor before she announced her candidacy, also said she’s concerned about property taxes.

“People are being pushed out of their homes, they can’t stay in their homes because they can’t afford their property taxes,” she said. “That’s a problem.”

At the same time, “I’m not willing to compromise on basic services,” Degenfelder added. “I’m not willing to compromise on health and safety. If my house is on fire, I want a fire truck to show up right now.”

Being able to provide basic services is “why we keep a lean government,” she said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Stop Talking About It And Do Something"}]

Another issue all three agree on is that there needs to be more action after decades of officials and state leaders saying something needs to be done to keep young people from leaving Wyoming.

The issue isn’t money, said Bien. He said Wyoming spends about $22,000 per K-12 student, which jumps to about $35,000 including capital construction investments.

“I don’t think it’s a money issue. I think what this is is a coordination issue,” he said.

There’s a disconnect between education and industry when businesses say they need certain skills and Wyoming students aren’t learning them.

“Right now in this community, I know that the demand is for trades, for an electrician, for someone who knows heating and air conditioning controls,” Barlow said. “That is a pretty dang good job.

“In fact, it probably pays better than being a veterinarian — even if I was a good veterinarian.”

[{"type":"text","text":"That last jab at himself drew laughter from the crowd."}]

He pointed out there is some work being done to reverse that outward migration, like teaching certified nursing assistant (CNA) courses in high schools.

“Someday I’m going to be in a nursing home and that CNA is going to be looking after me, right?” Barlow said

Wyoming’s young talent leaving the state “is a problem we’ve all experienced,” Degenfelder said. “It may be your son or daughter, someone that you worked with, your friends leaving the state of Wyoming.

“We can’t just keep talking about it,” she continued. “We have to solve this problem.”

One way to do that is to stop putting a focus on training and educating people for jobs they can’t find in Wyoming.

“Moving away from trying to prepare kids for jobs that don’t even exist in Wyoming,” she said. “(Then) you talk to our businesses, like all of you in this room, and we can’t fill our jobs. There’s a disconnect there.”

Gov forum IMG 6542 6 5 26 6 5 26

<title>GOP Gov. Candidates Say Data Centers A National Security Issue For Wyoming And US | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Data centers are important to national security and for Wyoming, said the top GOP candidates for governor during a Friday forum. “We are in an AI arms race with China,” Megan Degenfelder said, with all agreeing it will be a priority for the next governor.

GOP Gov. Candidates Say Data Centers A National Security Issue For Wyoming And US

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's Feature Reporter, Andrew Rossi.

Andrew Rossi

Business

The first presence of the dreaded New World screwworm in America since 1968 represents an “immediate threat” to Wyoming’s ranchers and owners of horses and pets, Wyoming’s state veterinarian said Friday.

“We don't know that it won't show up tomorrow,” said Hallie Hasel. "We don't know that it might not show up for six months. It may not show up at all, but we would consider screwworm something that we immediately need to start watching out for," she said.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed a 3-week-old calf in La Pryor, Texas, near San Antonio, was infested with the flesh-eating larvae of the parasitic fly.

Another case of screwworm had been confirmed in Mexico, 25 miles from the U.S. border, a week earlier. 

La Pryor is more than 1,000 miles away from Wyoming, but Hasel said the long distance that doesn’t mean ranchers should underestimate the spread of screwworm. 

[{"type":"text","text":"If anything, she added, they need to be more on their guard than ever."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The Screwworm Situation"}]

. Hasel was the chair of a symposium on the preparedness, prevention, and response to screwworm in September 2025, which discussed the fly's anticipated return to the U.S. at some point in the near future.

“The United States has been preparing for this since about 2024, when we knew that the screwworm was moving north out of Panama,” she said. “We were aware there was a problem and needed to start preparing immediately, which the federal government and several states did.”

As of Friday, the USDA has taken “immediate action” to contain and stop the potential spread of screwworm. They’ve established a 12-mile "infested zone" around the detection site and have implemented additional proactive measures in coordination with the Texas Animal Health Commission.

Hasel spoke highly of the federal and state response to this confirmed case of screwworm.

“Texas has been implementing an excellent program to make sure that they stop screwworm right where it's at,” she said. “We have a lot of faith in their ability to stop it right where it's at.”

With the current programs in place, Hasel didn’t anticipate screwworm spreading rapidly into the rest of the country, let alone into Wyoming, in the near future.

“We don't expect it to come out of South Texas anytime soon,” she said.

However, that doesn’t mean the threat of screwworm isn’t worth taking seriously.

[{"type":"text","text":"Not A Food Issue"}]

Gene Copenhaver, president of the National Cattle and Beef Association, was in Cody on Friday for the Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show. He took time to discuss the screwworm case in Texas that morning.

“There is a concern, but we've been expecting this for over a year,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “We thought it'd come last summer, so it gave a lot of time to get ready for it.”

Copenhaver agreed with Hasel’s assessment of the current situation. While there isn’t much concern about screwworm spreading beyond South Texas, livestock owners need to stay vigilant to ensure nothing gets past them.

There was one big thing Copenhaver wanted “the consumer” to know: screwworm is a pest issue, not a food issue.

“It’s not a food-borne safety issue,” he said. “The beef from a cow infested with screwworm is still good. There was some concern that speculation (on screwworm) was going to hurt the market, but they’re dealing with it, and I think we’re good.”

The confirmation of the screwworm immediately led to concern that beef prices could increase. Even if screwworm spreads much further and faster than anticipated, Copenhaver said that shouldn’t be a concern for beef buyers.

“It's a pest issue for the producer, not a food safety issue for the consumer,” he said.

[{"type":"text","text":"Help On Wheels"}]

New World screwworm is the larva of the New World screwworm fly. The flies lay their eggs in living tissue, usually in open wounds or body openings like the eyes, nose, and mouth.

When the eggs hatch, the maggots feed and burrow into the surrounding tissue, which can quickly kill the afflicted animal.

“They can burrow into that wound and kill the animal within seven to 10 days,” Hasel said.

A female screwworm can fly more than 120 miles and lay more than 3,000 eggs in its short 20-day lifecycle.

The fly itself can’t move very far or very fast, so the flying range of female flies is not the primary concern in the spread of screwworm. The biggest concern is what Hasel called “help on wheels.”

“The fly doesn't move long distances, except when it has help on wheels,” she said. “The primary concern is that larvae go unnoticed on an animal that moves from an area where they’re supposed to move, or from where we aren’t aware that screwworm is present.”

Cattle are constantly moving throughout the United States in tractor-trailers. If one individual has an open wound with screwworm larvae inside, it could quickly become a widespread issue.

 between 1966 and 2025, but many ranchers 

 about its impact on their cattle. Its reappearance has many agricultural producers spooked, and Hasel thinks they’re right to be concerned.

“We need everyone to maintain their vigilance, just in case it does move on a trailer somewhere else,” she said. “That it doesn't mean that you need to put every animal in the chute every day. It just means you need to be aware, look at any wound that you see on an animal, and make sure there isn't something in that wound that looks unusual.”

The discussion around screwworm has focused primarily on its potential impacts on cattle ranchers, as the first case was detected in a calf.

While the impacts of screwworm on livestock is a potent concern, Hasel believes that’s narrowing the scope. The threat of screwworm is much broader.

“What we're really concerned about is not just livestock, but all species,” she said. “It’s not just cows and horses. It’s cats, dogs, and other companion animals.”

[{"type":"text","text":"That’s where Wyomingites need to be concerned now and in the future."}]

Hasel mentioned that animal shelters nationwide take in rescued cats and dogs from southern states like Texas and Florida. That’s where they’re more likely to be infested with screwworm and, potentially, spread it very far in a very short amount of time.

“We get a lot of pets into Wyoming rescues that go up for adoption from states like Texas,” she said. “Should any of those animals have a wound and the larvae aren't noticed, we're concerned that that could also spread screwworm into Wyoming.”

Fortunately, there are several approved treatments and preventative products that protect pets from screwworm. If people don’t already have this protection for their pets, Hasel highly encourages them to obtain it now.

“Having them on a preventative is just a great all-around measure,” she said.

[{"type":"text","text":"It’s also worth noting that humans can be afflicted by screwworm, too."}]

In August 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that someone in Maryland had screwworm after returning from a trip to El Salvador.

It was the first human case of travel-associated New World screwworm myiasis from an outbreak-affected country identified in the U.S.

“It could get into a slight wound or scratch on any warm-blooded animal,” Copenhaver said. “It can affect wildlife too, and we can’t doctor to wildlife like we can our own cattle. That’s the fear.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"What To Do (When You Need To)"}]

Hasel doesn’t believe the single confirmed screwworm case in Texas this week poses an imminent threat to Wyoming. However, the risk of screwworm needs to be taken seriously.

If anyone confirms or suspects a cow, horse, or companion animal has an open wound infested with screwworm, they need to take immediate steps to save the animals and notify the proper authorities.

“If it's a livestock-sized animal, do not move that animal,” Hasel said. “Lock it up in a small pen, right where it's at. If you see any larvae in an open wound, do not throw them on the ground. Collect them into a container, take pictures of the wound and the larvae, and examine the rest of your herd.”

For potentially afflicted cats and dogs, Hasel said pet owners should take them to a veterinarian immediately. Any larvae should be collected and placed into a sealable container.

Regardless of the animal, Hasel said Wyomingites need to report any confirmed or potential screwworm infestation to her and the Wyoming Livestock Board immediately.

“We all work together,” she said. “If you can’t reach us, your veterinarian will know how. People just need to remember that even if you find it in cattle, and if it spreads to more cattle, we have appropriate treatments in place.”

[{"type":"text","text":"300 Million Solutions A Week"}]

Since the return of screwworm to the U.S. has been anticipated for years, preventive measures have been in place for some time.

The primary way screwworm was eradicated in the 1960s was by breeding and releasing sterile male screwworm flies. That’s the same strategy being developed to stop screwworm in the 2020s.

“The flies only breed once,” Copenhaver said. “If the females breed with sterile males, they can’t put out their larvae.”

Copenhaver mentioned that a facility in Panama is already releasing 100 million sterile screwworm flies a week to reduce, and hopefully eradicate, the parasitic fly in Central America. A new facility being built in Mexico, with financial support from the U.S., will release over 300 million sterile flies a week.

“That will be on board by midsummer 2027,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll have screwworm on the run by this time next year.”

In the meantime, Copenhaver believes the USDA and the Texas Animal Health Commission are “doing a great job” handling the single confirmed case of screwworm and reducing the potential spread by every means necessary.

“Screwworm needs to be taken seriously, but I think this case is very much under control,” he said. “We want people to know that this is a pest issue, not a food issue, and this is a single confirmed case that we’ve anticipated for a while.”

And, if all else fails, Wyoming livestock and companion animals have an additional layer of protection. Screwworms don’t like the cold.

“They won’t come where it gets very cold,” Copenhaver said. “When it's wintertime, they’ll go away because of the cold weather.”

Screwworm and cattle

<title>Wyoming State Vet Says Wyoming Ranchers Need To Be Worried About Screwworm | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Wyoming State Veterinarian Hallie Hasel said Wyoming ranchers and pet owners should treat the detection of the New World screwworm in Texas as "an immediate threat." She said Texas officials are doing a good job stopping the spread but it should be taken seriously.

Wyoming State Vet Says Wyoming Ranchers Need To Be Worried About Screwworm

Jen kocher

Jen Kocher

Law Enforcement

For more than 30 years, the body of an unidentified woman discovered in the remote desert along Interstate 80 in rural Nevada has kept her secrets hidden.

The woman, known colloquially as “Shafter Jane Doe,” had been beaten and shot in the chest and back.

Her nude body was posed on the ground, arms extended to either side in the shape of a cross with legs slightly parted.

Less than a week after her death on Nov. 16, 1993, a geologist who had pulled off at the remote Shafter exit off I-80 to stretch his legs discovered her body, according to news reports from the time.

Later investigation in 2010 revealed that the woman had spent seven months in Afton, Wyoming, which was determined through the isotope testing. 

For years, her donated headstone has read, “Who Am I?”

Now more than 32 years after the gruesome discovery, authorities finally have an answer.  

Her name is Marion Hertha Alexander, who was a German immigrant who moved to California with her family in 1972.

After a decades-long investigation, members of the Elko County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement partners told the Elko County Commissioners on Thursday afternoon that they identified her through the use of advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy.

The decades-long investigation also revealed the woman was in Afton, Wyoming, for about seven months before she was murdered. 

Alexander left home around age 18, and her family told investigators that Alexander was a free spirit who liked to drift around.

Her family questioned where she had gone, but given her lifestyle, they did not report her missing to law enforcement.

Her living family members were notified of the identification in January of this year, Elko County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Douglas Fisher stated, and continue to be in touch with law enforcement.

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

Her suspected murderer, however, will not see justice.

Authorities were closing in on Roger Lee Durkee of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who was identified through semen found on a vaginal swab that yielded a full DNA profile, authorities said.

The profile was run through the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) but did not result in a match, so the Elko County Sheriff’s Office contracted a private group to perform forensic genetic genealogy analysis in February 2022 that led to Durkee as a potential suspect.

Further investigation indicated that Durkee was likely the murderer, but as detectives began planning their trip to Wisconsin to make an arrest, they learned that Durkee had died on Nov. 13, 2025.

He died within 14 days of detectives learning Alexander’s identity.

Now, however, Alexander will be properly laid to rest.

The Elko Sheriff’s Office asked the commission — and were granted — money to buy a proper headstone to finally put her to rest.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Piecing Together Mystery"}]

Authorities worked for decades to identify Alexander through the use of several forensic tools.

More than 32 years after her body was found along I-80, the woman known as “Shafter Jane Doe” has been identified, officials announced Thursday. Her nude body was posed on the ground, arms extended to either side in the shape of a cross.

One More For The Road: Friday, April 11, 2025

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