Daily Cartoon

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Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>Daily Cartoon 1: Saturday, March 28, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Daily Cartoon 1: Saturday, March 28, 2026

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

Andrew Rossi

Wyoming Life

The Cody Stampede Parade made a big impression from the start Friday with Miss Rodeo America, Olivia Favero of Taylor, Utah, riding “Clyde McBuffalo,” 

 from the Mortenson Ranch in New Mexico.

What better way than a buffalo to kick off a parade celebrating 250 years of America in Buffalo Bill’s town?

Clint Mortenson, Clyde’s owner, was happy with how well his bison did strolling down Sheridan Avenue with an experienced rider on his back.

[{"type":"text","text":"“He did good,” he said. “So did Miss Rodeo America.”"}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Big Names And Bands"}]

The Cody Stampede Parades, on July 3 and 4, attract some of Wyoming’s biggest names, bands and patriotic exuberance.

“Cody knows how to celebrate Independence Day,” said Mack Frost, a member of the Cody Stampede Parade Committee. “We wowed the hell out of the folks from Pasadena, California, who do the Rose Bowl parade. They couldn't believe that we were doing what we did.”

One sign of a parade’s prominence is its grand marshal. “The Duke” himself, John Wayne, was given the honor during America’s bicentennial celebration in 1976.

For the semiquincentennial, the Cody Stampede Parade Committee looked closer to home. Instead of one grand marshal, they had five.

A surprise last-minute addition to the grand marshal group was actor Dougie Hall. He’s had prominent roles in the series “Landman” and “1923," one of the many “Yellowstone” spinoffs and starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren.

After the U.S. Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard, the last one remaining in the Marine Corps, and the Cody Stampede Rodeo’s Renegade Riders and rodeo clowns, the grand marshals appeared.

While Hall was on horseback, the others rode in a wagon built for the 1990 Wyoming Centennial Wagon Train.

“It made the 260-mile trip ending in Cody on July 4, 1990, and it's back in 2026,” Frost said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Rifle And Royalty"}]

One of the most anticipated entries in the parade was 

Originally built for the 1976 bicentennial parade, it was removed from the roof on which it had perched for the last half-century, restored and returned for the nation’s semiquincentennial.

“We put it back to what it was in 1976, as best we could,” said Mike Darby, owner of the Irma Hotel and the giant Winchester. “We’re putting it right back where it was on July 5 and, hopefully, it’ll be there for the next 50 years.”

The giant Winchester was escorted down Sheridan Avenue by the Cody Gunslingers, who have been performing in front of the Irma’s porch for decades.

Since the Cody Stampede is the place to be for rodeo riders, a lot of royalty appeared in the parades. The “Miss Rodeos” of Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska were all there, along with the Rodeo Queens of Cody, Cowley, Sheridan, Meeteetse and Fremont County.

Miss Rodeo Wyoming, Kate Budge, was going to accompany Miss Rodeo America until Favero decided to lead the parade via celebrity bison.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"More Georges And Johns Than Bills"}]

For some, it’s an annual tradition to see how many Buffalo Bills appear in the Cody Stampede Parade. In 2026, the consummate showman was upstaged in his own town.

While Buffalo Bill was certainly present, he was outnumbered by multiple appearances of Betsy Ross, Paul Revere, and no less than six George Washingtons.

Abraham Lincoln appeared multiple times as well. He was even driving one of the two dozen vintage John Deere tractors, meticulously restored and making their memorably noisy appearance for another year.

Jim and Jess Brittain’s “Johnny Poppers” are always a crowd favorite. The lineup of tractors extended uninterrupted for three blocks.

No parade is complete without vintage vehicles, and the Cody Stampede Parade had more than a few.

The Big Hat Ranch has one of the 16 surviving 1925 White Model 15-45 passenger touring buses from the Yellowstone Transportation Company. It carried hundreds of tourists into Yellowstone from 1920 to 1925.

The biggest cheers were for the Team USA and Team Canada Can-Am All-Stars. The 6-Man football teams, with players from Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, Texas and Nebraska, are competing in the 28th annual Can-Am Bowl in Meeteetse on July 4.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Glorious Returns"}]

There have been many hallmarks of the Cody Stampede Parade that have come and gone over the years. For the 2026 parade, many people were delighted to see some familiar sights.

Hope Sheets, “The Pink Lady,” had been a flamboyant fixture of Cody’s parade for 40 years until she passed away May 18, 2025, at age 88. Her poignant absence was felt by many in the 2025 parade.

In 2026, Lisa Kealey honored her mother’s legacy by getting pretty in pink.

Dennis Haugen made his own mark as the stilt-walking “Long Tall Uncle Sam.” He started during the 1976 bicentennial and walked tall through Cody until he retired in 2016.

For the semiquincentennial, Haugen returned, stilts and all, to honor the nation’s 250th birthday. He stood even taller than before, riding rather than walking.

Nobody seemed more eager to be back in the Cody Stampede Parade than the Cody Volunteer Fire Department. Absent in protest in 2025, the entire fire engine fleet was the parade’s grand finale, with plenty of water for everyone.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Another 250 Years"}]

One of the biggest additions to the 2026 Cody Stampede Parade was also one of the most subtle.

A livestreaming webcam was installed on the balcony of the Irma Hotel, overlooking the intersection of Sheridan Avenue and 12th Street, offering one of the best views in town as the parade rolled through.

That was a first for one of the biggest parades in Wyoming, and a step into the 21st Century in a town seeped in the history and mythology of the American West.

For Frost, Independence Day in Cody is too fun, popular and strategically placed to pass up.

“If you plan your vacation properly, you can have one heck of a good time in Cody and northwest Wyoming in general,” he said. “If you're in Cody, it's just a short hop up the highway to Yellowstone National Park. We're just a magnet for the tourists. It's a great way to spend the Fourth of July. There's no doubt about it.”

Cody Stampede Parade 5

<title>America At 250: Thousands Pack Downtown Cody For Stampede Parade | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Thousands of people packed along the route of the Cody Stampede Parade on Friday to kick off America’s 250th birthday. There were six George Washingtons, five grand marshals and a restored 40-foot Winchester that made its parade debut 50 years ago.

America At 250: Thousands Pack Downtown Cody For Stampede Parade

Wildlife

Wildlife photographer Julie Argyle was watching a wolf tear apart a waterlogged bison carcass in Yellowstone National Park's Hayden Valley this week when she noticed something unsettling. 

The wolf didn’t seem able to enjoy the free meal, despite no other wolves, grizzlies, or other animals in the vicinity. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Instead, it kept glancing upward. "}]

“He was irritated, agitated, or however you want to describe it,” she said. “Something kept scaring that wolf.”

Other observers thought the wolf was watching eagles soaring over the carcass. Argyle was skeptical, as wolves don’t respond to natural stimuli that way.

Then she saw what she suspected was the source of the wolf’s concern: A drone.

“It was hovering right over the wolf and kept going in,” she said. “It ended up getting too close and scaring the wolf, and it took off and hid in the trees.”

Argyle watched the drone attempt to pursue the fleeing wolf before it soared high into a cloudy sky. There was no way to follow it back to its pilot, despite several observes and Yellowstone rangers attempting to do so.

She later learned that a fellow wildlife photographer had seen the same drone at the same spot earlier that day. A grizzly that was feeding on the carcass when the drone got too close and scared it off, just like it had with the wolf.

For Argyle, it was another infuriating incident of drones disturbing Yellowstone’s wildlife.

“That drone was definitely too close, and it's not OK,” she said. "I don't get why people do it."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Droning On"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Flying drones in Yellowstone, or any national park, is illegal."}]

The National Park Service (NPS) categorizes drones as “uncrewed aircraft,” and they are completely prohibited within the boundaries of every NPS site. Piloting a private drone without authorization is a misdemeanor carrying a maximum penalty of six months in jail and/or a $5,000 fine.

None of this has stopped people from piloting drones in Yellowstone. Argyle, who works as Lake Village’s postmaster, is seeing them increasingly often.

“This is the fourth drone incident that I have seen in the last five weeks, and I was aware of the incident of the drone harassing the grizzly sow and cubs near Grizzly Lake,” she said.

 of three grizzlies. The grizzlies didn’t seem overly bothered, but visitors in the vicinity were immediately outraged.

“I believe they found out who that person was by social media, but I don't know that there’s anything they can do about it once they’re out of the park,” Argyle said.

Being obstructed, harassed, or scared by tourists has become an occupational hazard for Yellowstone’s wildlife. Drones, in Argyle’s opinion, are much different – and much worse.

“Drones are much more invasive,” she said. “I knew that wolf was watching and being scared off by a drone before I saw the drone.”

Argyle was watching the wolf through her spotting scope 354 yards away. The drone was much closer than the 100 yards visitors are asked to keep between themselves and Yellowstone’s bears and wolves.

[{"type":"text","text":"However, Argyle said, “It’s not always about the yards.”"}]

“It’s about what you’re doing to change that animal’s behavior,” she said. “The park tries to stop people from encroaching on the landscape to protect the flora and fauna. The drone pilot might have been 100 yards away from that wolf, but the drone wasn’t.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"It’s OK To Call 911"}]

When someone spots something suspicious or illegal occurring in any national park, the NPS encourages witnesses to report it immediately.

The number for the official NPS tip line is (888) 653-0009. Tips can also be submitted online or via email.

[{"type":"text","text":"The other option, for immediate reporting, is to dial 911."}]

Most people are inherently nervous about dialing 911 except in extreme emergencies. Because flying drones in a national park is illegal, using 911 to report a drone is a perfectly viable option.

“I’d encourage people to call 911,” Argyle said. “Most people don't have an NPS dispatch number. If you see someone disturbing or encroaching on an animal with a drone, I would say that that's a situation where 911 should be called.”

Argyle admitted she “wasn’t an expert,” but she spoke from experience. She’s dialed 911 to report illegal drones in the past, and it has resulted in rangers finding and fining the pilots.

[{"type":"text","text":"“I think it's important to call it in,” she said."}]

In June 2025, a California man scared two osprey off their nest by flying a drone too close.  The NPS confirmed the tourist was 

, and the osprey eventually returned to their nest.

For anyone reluctant to call 911, Argyle said the best thing they can do is thoroughly document the incident and share that information with a law enforcement ranger.

“Take photos and videos of the drone harassing wildlife,” she said. “If you see the drone returning to a person or vehicle, take a picture of that, too. You can always contact a ranger and give them that information, and they'll take it.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"What’s The Point?"}]

Setting aside the legalities of flying drones in Yellowstone, Argyle can’t wrap her head around the rationale for it. If they want to observe or capture wild animals in their elements, drones do the opposite.

“As a wildlife photographer, I never want an animal to be on edge,” she said. “I want to see its natural behavior in its natural setting, not scared and running away with its tail tucked between its legs. That’s what drones do.”

In September 2025, Argyle got photos and videos of 

 out of a muddy pond. She got them by exercising patience and restraint from a distance over several days, so the scene could play out without interference.

“My favorite shots are when the animals aren't paying attention to me,” she said. “They’re always aware that people are there. That can't be helped, but I prefer the animal to be relaxed and doing what it's doing rather than watching what I'm doing.”

Drones are the irritating antithesis of this ethos, and they're getting worse over time, she said. In Argyle’s opinion, the best solution is to catch drone pilots in the act and ensure they’re identified and reported.

Yellowstone wolf harassed by drone 7 3 26

<title>Wolf Harassed Off Bison Carcass In Latest Yellowstone Illegal Drone Intrusion | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A wolf was trying to feed on a bison carcass in Yellowstone this week when it was harassed by a drone. “It was hovering right over the wolf and kept going in,” said a wildlife photographer who got video of the encounter.

Wolf Harassed Off Bison Carcass In Latest Yellowstone Illegal Drone Intrusion

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily reporter, Dale Killingbeck

Dale Killingbeck

Around Wyoming

The nation’s 250th birthday celebrations around Wyoming likely won’t hold a candle to what happenewd on the dusty streets of 1899 Casper leading up to the Fourth of July 127 years ago.

That’s because a similar blowout today would lead to arrests, fines and possibly hospital stays.

Just before the turn of the past century city businessmen, a former sheriff, and other enthusiastic male residents spent a few hours on June 29 chasing and shooting each other with Roman candles — 3,000 of the fiery devices, according to a local newspaper account.

“Last Thursday night from 9:30 to 12:30 o’clock the streets of Casper were ablaze with fireworks,” The Natrona County Tribune reported on July 6, 1899. “Some of our citizens had made up their minds to give others a touch of patriotism before the Glorious Fourth came around.”

That “touch” involved grown men shooting each other with the fireworks and transforming themselves back to their “glorious” youth when rules, regulations and consequences to unsafe behavior were just empty words spoken by adults who held no fascination with the noise, light, fire and heat of the pyrotechnic device.

So, days before the nation’s 123rd birthday, store owner Hugh L. Patton, 38, fired a 30-ball Roman candle across the street at John S. VanDoren. Patton was a former Casper town marshal and Natrona County Sheriff who had resigned in 1897 to join the Teddy Roosevelt Rough Riders during the Spanish American War, where he had served as a lieutenant. 

VanDoren, an agent for a stage line to Lander and ice cream shop owner, returned fire. But instead of hitting Patton he sent his firework sputtering into the confectionary shop run by Harry G. Duhling, 33.

Just that day, the June 29 edition of the Natrona County Tribune noted on page five that Duhling in his confectionary shop “had a big supply of firecrackers and fireworks on hand.”

“Better place your order with him now for your Fourth of July supply,” the editor reported.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Pre-Fourth 'Celebration'"}]

But the Roman candles among that supply of fireworks didn’t garner a sale because the great pre-Fourth of July fireworks war was on.

The June 29 edition also carried a big ad touting the Fourth’s activities under the management of the Casper Fire Department, which included a $300 display of fireworks at the end of the day.

Where the fire department was on June 29 as more men joined the firework fracas is not clear.

The newspaper editor who obviously had an interest in the fight described Duhling just after 9:30 p.m. June 29 as going into his store stash of Roman candles and firing back at VanDoren. But the wily VanDoren had recruited reinforcements and built a fort out of egg cases as a defensive tactic.

“He (VanDoren) sent three fire balls across the street, taking in the businesses from Fred Roedde’s restaurant to the Grand Central Hotel,” the Natrona Tribune reported. “By this time at least 20 men were on each side of the street armed with 30-ball Roman candles.”

The Tribune editor described the men from both sides as running into the middle of the street and shooting each other with a Roman candle when they were three or four feet apart until their ammunition “was exhausted.”

After carrying on for some time, the warriors turned on the growing number of spectators who had been drawn to the battle.

“A volley was sent into a party who were on the porch of the Grand Central hotel,” the newspaper reported. “There were a number of ladies in the crowd, all of whom lost no time getting inside.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Burning Bystanders"}]

After chasing the hotel guests inside, the group went after some men watching from an alley behind the Cunningham store, chasing them down the alley and sending a shot that burned Robert F. Potter, a bookkeeper for C. H. King, the grandfather of future president Gerald Ford, in the ear and shooting “Uncle”Jeremiah Dain in the back, burning him “to the skin.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Dain, 68, owned a paint shop in Casper."}]

The newspaper editor mentioned “quite a number of the participants were burned” and then named some names, including John Shaffer with a burned finger, Charles Nichols with a burned front vest, Lee Culver with a burn on the front of his coat, VanDoren with a forehead burn and J. B. Bradley who was burned on the face.

“Other crowds were shot into until everybody was chased home or into the back alleys and then the fight commenced again, which was kept up until 12:30 a.m. when every Roman candle in town had been shot off. In all there were no less than 3,000 shots fired,” the Tribune editor wrote.

At Wyoming Banner Medical Center, Dr. Ben Kautza, medical director for the surgical trauma department, listened to a description of the battle and said it “would be shocking” if someone didn’t die as a result due to the burn and wound care available in the West in 1899.

“We barely had antibiotics, so, wound care back then was cleaning and frontier salves, almost native-type medicine,” he said. “It would be shocking if people didn’t have really bad kinds of complications … as far was wound issues, wound infections, skin deformities.”

Kautza said Roman candles pose a threat as a projectile to the eyes and face in addition to igniting clothing and creating third-degree burns. Other issues involve a faulty candle exploding in the person’s hand and “kind of taking your hand or arms with it.”

As a surgeon in Pittsburgh a few years ago, the Fourth of July, Memorial Dayand other holidays meant people would pull out fireworks, misuse them or have faulty ones that brought them to the hospital with “devastating hand injuries” related to an explosion in a person’s hand.

During the past two Fourth of Julys in Casper, Kautza remains thankful he has not seen a “Roman candle fight” but he’s seen a few hand injuries from firework explosions.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"If It Happened Now"}]

At the Casper Police Department, spokesperson Rebekah Ladd said if the Roman candle war happened in 2026 it would have resulted in a police response and investigation that included canvassing the area to get the wounded to care.

Any “hazardous material” would also have been removed, she said.

Officers would also interview those involved and review available evidence to determine each person’s actions and intent,” Ladd said. “The investigation would included assessing the nature and extent of any injuries, which could help determine whether potential assault charges would be classified as misdemeanors or felonies.”

Ladd said additional charges such as disturbing the peace would also likely be considered, with the ultimate charging decisions depending on the outcome of the investigation.

“Regardless, the Casper Police Department strongly discourages this type of behavior, even still, in 2026,” she said.

Patton, who instigated the whole Roman candle war, went on to become a Wyoming state representative in 1909 and was appointed U.S. marshal for Wyoming by President Taft in 1912. He was re-elected Natrona County sheriff, serving from 1915-17.

VanDoren, also an instigator, went on to become the Casper city treasurer for several years.

Potter, one of the burn victims, moved to Douglas in 1900 and in 1905 successfully established the Douglas Enterprise newspaper.

Contact Dale Killingbeck at dale@cowboystatedaily.com

Roman candle fight Historic casper roman candle inset 7 3 26

<title>Wyoming History: Casper’s Huge 1899 4th Of July Fight With 3,000 Roman Candles | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The huge blowouts planned for America's 250th birthday likely won’t be as wild as the three-hour firefight with 3,000 Roman candles that broke out in Casper in 1899. A similar celebration today would likely lead to arrests, fines and hospital stays.

Wyoming History: Casper’s Huge 1899 4th Of July Fight With 3,000 Roman Candles

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

Courts

A Florida woman who owned a behavioral health clinic in Cheyenne has been ordered to pay back more than $870,000 to Wyoming Medicaid for bilking the federal agency with fraudulent claims.

Federal prosecutors say her daughter helped carry out the scheme by assisting with billing and falsifying service documentation while working for the clinic.

Tera Marie Campbell, 47, of Maitland, Florida, owned The Olive Branch LLC, a behavioral health clinic that provided autism services in Cheyenne and Minot, North Dakota, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming said Thursday in a statement announcing the women’s sentences for conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Campbell used the business to submit fraudulent Medicaid claims over several years, including claims for services provided by employees who lacked required certifications, claims that were upcoded to higher-paying services and bills for appointments that never occurred, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Investigators said some of those claims were submitted for dates when the clinic was closed and even while Campbell was out of the country on vacation.

Campbell's daughter, Tayler Ann Krauss, 27, of McDavid, Florida, worked as the clinic's medical biller between December 2020 and October 2022. She was instrumental in providing service documentation used to support fraudulent claims.

The investigation concluded the clinic relied extensively on untrained employees, falsified certification and supervision records, and knowingly billed Wyoming Medicaid for services that did not meet Medicaid requirements, according to prosecutors.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Joint Investigation"}]

The case was investigated by the Wyoming Attorney General's Office Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

U.S. Attorney Darin Smith said in a statement that Medicaid fraud "steals taxpayer dollars from programs that millions of Americans depend on and undermines care for vulnerable patients.

"I am committed to holding accountable those who exploit these programs for personal gain."

Smith said his office will continue working with federal and state partners to investigate and prosecute health care fraud, saying the effort is aimed at protecting public resources and preserving confidence in the healthcare system.

Wyoming Attorney General Keith Kautz added in the statement that the prosecution and conviction of Campbell and Krauss demonstrates the value of cooperation between state and federal law enforcement agencies and praised the work of his office's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

Smith nor Kautz responded to Cowboy State Daily's request for an interview beyond the prepared statements released by the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Sentence Handed Down"}]

U.S. District Judge Kelly H. Rankin sentenced Krauss on Monday and Campbell on Tuesday in federal court in Cheyenne.

Campbell and Krauss were indicted May 21, 2025, and both pleaded guilty April 9 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Campbell was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. Krauss was sentenced to two years of home confinement.

The judge ordered the women to jointly pay $735,717.63 in restitution to Wyoming Medicaid. Campbell was also ordered to repay $135,890.91 to the military's Tricare health care program.

The court ruled Krauss is jointly responsible for up to $71,509.44 of that amount.

Campbell was separately sentenced in January in a related North Dakota Medicaid fraud case.

In that case, she received a three-year suspended sentence, three years of supervised release and was ordered to repay an additional $225,000 to North Dakota's Medicaid program.

Federal courthouse cheyenne 9 28 23

<title>Florida Woman, Daughter Ordered To Pay Back $870K They Stole From Wyoming Medicaid | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Florida woman who ran a Cheyenne behavioral health clinic, and her daughter, have been ordered to pay back more than $870,000 they stole from Wyoming Medicaid. They funneled fraudulent claims through the clinic for years, say federal prosecutors.

Florida Woman, Daughter Ordered To Pay Back $870K They Stole From Wyoming Medicaid

A Cheyenne father has been charged with child endangerment after Laramie County Sheriff’s Office deputies say he repeatedly told them his infant son was asleep inside his house when instead the baby was strapped inside a hot Cadillac Escalade parked outside the home.

Jhadon Robert Michael Curry, born in 1998, made his first court appearance on Tuesday and was set for a July 31 arraignment, according to charging documents made available by the Laramie County Circuit Court on Thursday.

The investigation began when deputies were dispatched around 8:34 p.m. June 16 to a home in south Cheyenne after receiving a report of an allegedly impaired man who was about to drive away with a child in the vehicle, according to court documents.

When they arrived, Curry repeatedly insisted the baby was inside the house and not in the Escalade, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in his case. 

After looking for he infant for just over 30 minutes, deputies eventually found the baby crying inside the locked SUV.

The child was sweating profusely, crying loudly and "very hot to the touch,” the affidavit says. American Medical Response was called to evaluate the infant.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Empty Crib"}]

Deputy Aaron Mondragon entered the home and asked Curry where his son was, the affidavit says. Curry allegedly answered that the baby was asleep in a back bedroom.

[{"type":"text","text":"Mondragon searched the room and found only an empty crib."}]

When the deputy told Curry the baby wasn't there, the man changed his answer, saying the infant was "on the bed," the affidavit states.

[{"type":"text","text":"The deputy searched again but still couldn't find the child."}]

While deputies continued searching the home, Curry called the child's mother on speaker phone and told her he had "just put the baby to sleep," according to investigators.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Crying From SUV"}]

After searching the house a second time, Mondragon walked outside to Curry's Escalade, where he found the infant strapped into a rear-facing car seat in the locked SUV.

[{"type":"text","text":"Another deputy reported hearing the baby crying from inside the vehicle."}]

Even after deputies located the child, investigators say Curry continued insisting the infant wasn’t in the hot vehicle and inside the house.

When asked where the baby was, Curry allegedly pointed toward the residence and yelled, "Yeah! He is in there! I just put him to sleep!"

[{"type":"text","text":"Moments later, deputies asked him again."}]

"He is in the house! What are you talking about?!" Curry allegedly replied, the affidavit says.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'Man, He's In My Car?'"}]

Deputies instructed Curry to unlock the vehicle, but he said he didn't have the keys.

After retrieving them from inside the house, Curry unlocked the Escalade with the key fob.

By that point, Mondragon had already opened the SUV and was removing the infant from the car seat.

According to the affidavit, Curry looked at the deputy and asked with surprise, "Man, he's in my car?"

A Cheyenne father has been charged with child endangerment after deputies say they found his infant "sweating profusely, crying very loud and a lot” inside a locked SUV. The baby also was "very hot to the touch," said investigators.

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