Daily Darwin

Not saying the color of the paint caused this, but you don’t see the neighbors rushing to his aid….

Darwin 5 1 26

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

<title>Daily Darwin: Friday, May 1, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Daily Darwin: Friday, May 1, 2026

 Not saying the color of the paint caused this, but you don’t see the neighbors rushing to his aid….

Kerry Drake

Outdoors

Public Lands

On the 55th anniversary of Bill Briggs’ legendary, incredibly dangerous, and totally outrageous first ski down the face of Grand Teton this past Monday, the now-94-year-old mountaineer and musician said it was just something he had to do.

“There was a lot of uncertainty, but I felt it’s probably now or never,” Briggs said in an email to Cowboy State Daily. 

Now hard of hearing, email is the way he communicates now — except when he’s at his haunts in Jackson and Wilson every weekend where he sings and yodels.

“I thought (skiing the Grand) was sort of a last chance, and I was running a little late already,” Briggs recalled. “I thought, ‘Just do the best you can, one thing at a time. It’s all doable snow all the way, and I’m as fit as I will ever be for this lifetime.'”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Without A Hip Joint"}]

Skiing down the sheer face of a rocky and intimidating Grand Teton would have been impressive enough, but it’s even more so considering that Briggs was born without a hip joint. 

He underwent surgery at age 2 to carve out a socket, and ultimately had it fused in 1961. Ten years later on June 15, 1971, he would make his historic descent down Grand Teton.

 by Kimberly Geil said his hip was frozen in place and never quite worked properly after the fusion, but Briggs didn’t allow it to keep him from doing what he wanted.

“He has achieved athletic feats that most people with all joints functioning at 100% could never have accomplished,” she wrote. 

Briggs’ route required a free-hanging rappel down a 165-foot cliff face, which he completed with his skis on. 

Despite all the preparation and planning, he said there was plenty of unexpected twists and turns.

“Ice ripples at the bottom of the Stettner Couloir. Not enough snow for the traverse over to the Ford Couloir,” Briggs said. “Huge chockstone clear across the Stettner. Steep slot to climb out of the Stettner onto the East Face.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Then there were frozen crampon straps. "}]

“No flat place to put skis on and can’t dent the hard crust on the snow,” he explained. “Many rocky outcrops to ski around. Breaking through the hard crust and falling downhill. Big slough of snow down the East Face. Ski tails hit rock when skiing the slot. Rappelling the chockstone.”

Briggs recalled periodic bunches of snow spiriting into the Ford-Stettner route on the peak from the right, to then flow down the runnel in the middle of the couloir. 

“Cornice to ski off onto slope over to Teepee’s Pillar,” he wrote. “Entire slope sloughs as I ski across to Teepee’s. Huge frost feathers 3 feet deep to ski through down Teepee’s glacier.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"His assessment 55 years later? "}]

“Harder than I thought,” Briggs said. "Only the less than 10-foot wide, steep 60-degree slot. That’s the absolute limit of what I can ski.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Father Of Extreme Skiing"}]

What does Briggs — known as the father of extreme skiing (he prefers the term ski mountaineering) — think about the body challenges he faced with his hip disability?

“What’s possible? What’s the limit?” he replied. “The great fun of making the margin of safety more narrow.”

After completing the feat and returning to town, Briggs quickly realized that he had a problem: many people didn’t believe he did it. Where was the proof?

But when Briggs drove to the Jackson airport and saw that the tracks his skis made on the mountain were still visible, he called Jackson Hole News co-owner Virginia Huidekoper, who immediately recognized the news value and how important it was to document what her friend did.

“She knew the greatness of the achievement and told me to stay right there so we can fly up and photograph the tracks,” Briggs said.

Huidekoper flew her Cessna 182, but Briggs said she suddenly surprised him by turning control of the craft over to him, even though he had absolutely no experience as a pilot.

“She told me to put my feet on the pedals and hands on the steering wheel and don’t do anything while she took four photos of the tracks as viewed from the south,” Briggs wrote. “She dropped me off at the airport and probably picked up her paper’s chief photographer, Roger LaVake, so he could get several shots of the tracks.” 

Briggs told Cowboy State Daily that he had many other wonderful experiences as a ski mountaineer, including his time as an Exum guide. 

He also made first descents of other mountains in the Teton Range, including Middle Teton, South Teton, Mount Moran and Mount Owen.

“So many!” he exclaimed in his email. “But none as great.”

Eventually, the physical pain of mountaineering as he got older forced Briggs to seek other work. He tried his hand at being a folk singer in New York City, where folk music was all the rage.

Briggs played once in a small, almost empty Greenwich Village coffee shop. The lack of an audience was due to the fact there was another folk singer performing at a nearby club, a fellow named Bob Dylan.

“I didn’t fit in very well at all in Greenwich Village,” Briggs said. “I was just coming out of the lowest point of this life. Bob Dylan was a great talent, but there were so many others. 

"I had musically met with Pete and Penny Seeger, Joan Baez and Judy Collins. I was very impressed with them all.”

Later, Briggs would get a chance to play with Dylan — or maybe it was Dylan who had the good fortune to play with the famed mountaineer.

It was at a wedding reception at the small Turpin Meadow Ranch 50 miles north of Jackson. Briggs recalled a few inches of snow on the ground.

Dylan came as the guest of music producer David Geffen. 

“Our bass player/photographer said Dylan might show up,” Briggs said. “He did and didn’t seem very happy to be there. Our front man, John Cooke, invited him to play with us, which cheered him up.”

Briggs said the only extra instrument his band had was a mandolin, “which Bob played very well for our three remaining sets.”

“At the end, one of the ranch hands introduced Bob to me as if I was sort of equal,” Briggs said. “Bob would have none of it.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Still Playing Music"}]

Briggs is still playing music for the summer and winter seasons each Sunday at the Stagecoach Bar in Wilson, and Monday at the Hoot. 

“Skiing the Grand was by far the best [experience] of my life,” Briggs said. “But what I enjoyed most about it all was doing each piece and having completed each one. Planning is fun, but deep enjoyment comes only with the doing.

“Often the enjoyment is unexpected and that makes it even better,” he added. “There’s a growth element wherein it’s being or been done better than ever. It doesn’t matter whether it’s music making or athletic endeavor as long as it’s better in some way.” 

Briggs has long been a proponent of Scientology, and said it’s helped shape his life in many ways.

He confided that he’s become a student of religious philosophy and “resolved to my own satisfaction practically all of the mysteries of life. One has to come by this on his own. I don’t know who else may have, or what to do with it all.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"How would Briggs like to be remembered?"}]

“I’ve been in the pursuit of happiness, and through the study and practice of religious philosophy, got there to my satisfaction,” he said. “And I’m the one responsible for that.” 

Kerry Drake can be reached at: Kerry@CowboyStateDaily.com

Bill Briggs main 6 20 26

<title>It’s Been 55 Years Since Bill Briggs Became The First To Ski Down Grand Teton | Cowboy State Daily</title>

This week marks the 55th anniversary of one of the most daring feats in Wyoming history, when Bill Briggs — the “father of extreme skiing” — became the first person to ski down the face of Grand Teton. “It was harder than I thought,” the 94-year-old recalled.

It’s Been 55 Years Since Bill Briggs Became The First To Ski Down Grand Teton

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's general assignment reporter, Clair McFarland.

Clair McFarland

Law Enforcement

Crime & Courts

Sound surveillance technology has gone largely unnoticed and un-debated in Wyoming while residents clash over video-surveillance license plate reader cameras, like Flock.

ome Wyoming law enforcement agencies use microphone surveillance systems in Cheyenne to detect gunshots, authorities have confirmed.

Gunshot detection sensors are acoustic detection systems built to alert authorities to gunfire and help them locate it. 

ShotSpotter, a prevalent system brand, relies on an artificial intelligence algorithm and network of microphones to identify gunshots.

Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak said his office uses that tech in just one place: the local courthouse.

The Cheyenne Police Department has used shot detection technology and “the microphones can be deployed on our mobile observation platforms at large community events, or in hot spots for crime,” said agency spokeswoman Alexandra Farkas in a Friday text message.

The surveillance video cameras have been far more controversial so far, as Wyoming law enforcement agencies use license plate cameras in at least 

In the audio surveillance world, the prominent brand Flock is now transitioning to train its high-powered microphones to listen for ambiguous sounds like screaming and human distress rather than just gunshots, according to 

[{"type":"text","text":"State of Surveillance calls that expansion “mission creep.”"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Kozak said he hadn’t heard of microphones doing that yet."}]

Kozak in his Friday phone interview said that when he was chief of police for Cheyenne, the agency used the microphones at the huge Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo to locate any gunfire on site quickly.

As for Kozak’s newer role as sheriff, the courthouse is the only place he uses the sound technology, he said.

“(If there are) any shots within the building, it alerts deputies what part of the building,” he said.

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

 a man revving his motorcycle until it pops, prompting a visit from a police officer who said the noise sensors “triangulated” the sound.

Cowboy State Daily has not yet confirmed whether the video depicts a real police encounter.

But for New York City, vehicle exhausts and 

 aren’t false positives: they’re targets. 

 saying the city’s hidden “noise cameras” led to $1.7 million in fines in recent years for things like motorcycle roars, honking horns and blasting music.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Full Scale In Bigger Cities"}]

Gunshot detection sensors are more prevalent in bigger cities, where police not only have a dispatch center but a real crime center for tracking immediate threats and incidents as well, Kozak said.

The sheriff said he recently visited Mesa, Arizona, where he worked prior to 2006, and watched that city’s real crime center track incidents through city cameras.

“If it’s a high-risk call like a shooting or drive-by, something like that, they’ll dispatch drones,” said Kozak.  “They’ll push a button, the drone goes up, responds to the call” and captures images of whoever is leaving or in that area.

“The future is kind of crazy: what’s coming for policing,” said Kozak.

Campbell County Sheriff Scott Matheny and Fremont County Undersheriff Mike Hutchison both said their agencies don’t use the microphones.

Teton County Sheriff Matt Carr, whose office oversees an area already populated with camera surveillance, did not respond by publication to a Friday voicemail.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Flock Critic"}]

Rep. Daniel Singh, R-Cheyenne, who has been a vocal critic of the many Flock-brand surveillance cameras in Cheyenne, told Cowboy State Daily that the microphones aren’t as offensive since they’re narrowly focused on picking up the sound of gunfire rather than tracking individuals’ movements. 

But policymakers should still be proactive about putting safeguards around any new surveillance technology people, he said.

Singh co-chairs the Legislature’s Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology. He said the committee is scheduled to consider digital surveillance privacy policies at its next meeting, set tentatively for July.

“The difference with the Flock camera is the information is identifiable, right? So you have your specific license plate or specific vehicle or what-have-you,” said Singh. “But the microphone, it’s de-identified. … You just know something loud is over there.”

On the topic of mission creep and policy, Singh said, “Well unfortunately, usually policy is reactive, but that “we should try to take a proactive approach to figure out where your rights ought to be protected, instead of learning from trial and error.”

Singh noted how pervasive the government’s surveillance efforts have grown already.

“Should the government be able to hear you in your own home?” asked Singh. “The government has already allowed itself to listen in on this conversation between you and me, if they decide I’m a threat to national security. But in the privacy of your own home, is that the direction you want to let it slide? I don’t think so.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Ensure They Don’t Make Us Less Free"}]

Robert Frommer, senior attorney at the Institute for Justice and one of the attorneys urging stronger Fourth Amendment protections with respect to surveillance video cameras, told Cowboy State Daily that his organization hasn’t been as concerned with the microphones because their role is more limited — so far.

But they’re not without issues, he added, noting that he’s heard of false positives and 

. Mission creep is another concern, he said

The city of Chicago announced in 2024 it was ending its contract with SoundThinking, which is 

’s parent company. That was after the systems were criticized for 

“Technologies like Shot Spotter are sold as keeping us safe,” said Frommer. “But it’s the job of courts and legislatures to ensure that they don’t make us less free.”

Loud pipes Mix Collage 19 Jun 2026 10 35 AM 204 6 19 26

<title>We Know Surveillance Cameras Are Being Used, But So Are Surveillance Microphones | Cowboy State Daily</title>

While Wyoming debates surveillance cameras, what's gone largely unsung and un-debated is sound sensor technology. Law enforcement authorities in Cheyenne say they are using noise sensors to detect gunshot sounds. Some worry it could lead to "mission creep.”

We Know Surveillance Cameras Are Being Used, But So Are Surveillance Microphones

Courts

RIVERTON — A 33-year-old Lander man faces up to 42 years in prison and fines in connection with the Wednesday evening Riverton crash in which two people died.

Micheal Odom was already on probation for DUI, police interference, and reckless driving convictions out of Campbell County when the truck he was driving sped through Riverton’s busiest 30 mph thoroughfare at more than 75 mph, Fremont County deputy attorney James Weck told the Lander Circuit Court on Friday.

Odom, who is in custody, appeared in court for his initial hearing that afternoon.

Weck noted that besides the Campbell County convictions, Odom is also on parole for 

heft, burglary, and property destruction felonies out of Natrona County.

Friday’s filing marks his third DUI charge in five years, and Odom tried to flee the scene of the crash, Weck added. 

The prosecutor asked Lander Circuit Court Judge Jefferson Coombs to set Odom’s bond at $5 million cash-only.

Coombs warned Odom that he doesn’t have to incriminate himself, but asked if he wanted to speak about his life in response to Weck’s bond argument.

[{"type":"text","text":"Odom took that opening to apologize instead."}]

“I’m terribly sorry about what happened,” he said. “I’ve just been fighting addiction my whole life. I do not really know what happened or remember anything. I just apologize to the victims’ family and everything.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Coombs set Odom’s bond at $1 million, cash-only."}]

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

Cowboy State Daily arrived on scene Wednesday to find a white Dodge pickup with front-end damage on its side in the middle of Riverton’s busiest thoroughfare, Federal 

About a half-block away sat the mangled remains of what eyewitnesses said had been a Jeep.

An evidentiary affidavit by Riverton Police Department Officer Jesse Francher, filed by the Fremont County Attorney’s Office, says a 23- or 24-year-old woman lay on the ground at least 20 feet away from the Jeep. 

A man that same age, the Jeep’s passenger, remained inside the vehicle, the document says.

Officers arrived on scene and pulled Odom, who was bleeding, from the pickup.

“While waiting with Odom he was worried that he was going to jail,” wrote Francher. "Odom was very agitated as if he did something wrong.

"I suspected Odom was intoxicated but was unsure if it was caused by the accident or him being under the influence.”

The affidavit says that after a short time on scene, Odom fled and ran to a nearby parking lot “where he ran into a truck.”

It’s unclear if this means Odom ducked into the cab of the truck or collided with the truck.

Officers apprehended and handcuffed him and put him in Francher’s patrol vehicle, the affidavit says.

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

Francher took Odom to SageWest Health Care, where a nurse drew Odom’s blood at 9:13 p.m. — about one hour after the crash.

“I did not apply for a blood warrant first due to the exigent circumstances of a fatal accident and the suspect being injured,” wrote Francher in the affidavit. “I did not read Odom implied consent before the blood draw due to forgetting because of the circumstances at hand.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Francher later applied for a blood search warrant, the document says."}]

“While waiting with Odom, he stated that he was drunk,” wrote Francher.

[{"type":"text","text":"At that point Odom was given his Miranda rights. "}]

The document does not distinguish who interviewed Odom, but says he was asked if he’d been drinking and when.

 two 4-Loco drinks at 7 p.m., the affidavit says. He “was read” implied consent at 10:55 p.m. and did not consent, says the affidavit.

Medical personnel found he had a fractured wrist and fractured orbital floor. 

He was cleared and taken to the police department, where he submitted to a breath test and logged a 0.134% breath-alcohol concentration, the document says.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"What Happened?"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Meanwhile, another officer interviewed bystanders on scene."}]

The witnesses reportedly said the Jeep was on Webbwood Road, which intersects North Federal 

 and runs along Walmart’s southern lot — and that the Jeep entered the intersection heading west when Odom sped through the red light and struck the Jeep.

The woman, Taylee Dresser, was declared deceased on scene. The man, Gregory Trosper, was taken to the hospital after 

 perceived a “flicker” of his eyes. 

He was declared deceased at SageWest Health Care that night at 1

due to internal bleeding, says the affidavit.

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

[{"type":"text","text":"Coombs read Odom's charges Friday in court. "}]

Those include two alternative counts pertaining to Trosper's death: one accusing Odom of aggravated homicide by vehicle due to being drunk, and the other accusing him of the same but due to driving recklessly. 

Each is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and since they're in the alternative, a jury in this case would have to choose one or the other if it chose to convict Odom. 

The state alleges the same set of alternate charges pertaining to Dresser's death, which makes for another potential 20 years in prison. 

And the state also charged an enhanced DUI misdemeanor that ranges from 30 days to six months in jail and $3,000 in fines; one count of interfering with police ( up to one year and $1,000 in fines); and one count of reckless driving (up to six months in jail and $750 in fines).

Odom's preliminary hearing, where he'd have a chance to argue whether the state has probable cause to keep prosecuting him, is set for June 29 in Lander Circuit Court. 

Michael odom crash 6 19 26

<title>Lander Man Faces Homicide Charges, 42 Years In Double Fatal Riverton Crash | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Lander man faces homicide charges and up to 42 years in prison in connection with a Wednesday Riverton crash that killed two people. “I’m terribly sorry about what happened,” he said in court on Friday. “I’ve just been fighting addiction my whole life.”

Lander Man Faces Homicide Charges, 42 Years In Double Fatal Riverton Crash

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

A Rock Springs man accused of holding his girlfriend captive for days, cutting her with a razor blade, stabbing her with a kitchen fork and threatening to kill her is being held on a six-figure bond.

Jake Thomas Canestrini, 24, made his initial appearance Thursday afternoon in Sweetwater County Circuit Court, where he was charged with a handful of felonies, including kidnapping, three counts of aggravated assault and battery with a deadly weapon, strangulation of a household member, interference with a peace officer, three counts of domestic battery and cruelty to animals.

Court records show bond was set at $300,000 cash or surety, or $100,000 cash-only.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Parents Leave Town"}]

The alleged abuse began after the victim's parents left town on May 30, according to an affidavit written by Rock Springs Police Officer Tiffany Harris.

The victim and Canestrini had been in a relationship for about three years and were living together at her parents' home in Rock Springs.

Shortly after her parents left, Canestrini allegedly threw her to the ground multiple times and prevented her from leaving the residence, the affidavit says.

"Canestrini held her on the ground for several hours and continued to hit her on the head," Harris wrote.

Every time the woman tried to get up and run, "Canestrini would yank her by the hair to keep her down," according to the affidavit.

On June 2, Canestrini allegedly called the woman's employer and told them she would not be coming to work.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Razor Blade, Fork And Knife"}]

The victim described a series of assaults involving household items that investigators later sought when executing a search warrant at the home.

According to court records, Canestrini reportedly used a razor blade to make cuts on her thighs, hips, stomach, and arm. She also reported being stabbed in the upper back and "butt cheek" with a kitchen fork.

The alleged victim told investigators that during one confrontation, Canestrini held a kitchen knife against her throat while threatening to kill her.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"I will f***ing murder you,\" he allegedly told her."}]

At one point during the ordeal, Canestrini reportedly told the woman he loved her and "did not want to do this but because she was being a bitch to him, she deserved the punishment,” the affidavit says.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Extensive Injuries"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The victim told investigators he also threatened her family and pet."}]

"I will murder your cat. I will murder your f***ing family if you get the cops involved,” he allegedly said, according to the affidavit. "I will wait 20 years so I can kill you."

Court records indicate Canestrini reportedly strangled the woman multiple times during the ordeal. She told investigators there were times she could not breathe and feared for her life.

Medical records cited in the affidavit indicate a physician later advised her she had suffered a concussion.

Investigators documented bruising across much of the woman's body. Photographs attached to the case file show injuries to her face, arms, shoulders, legs, and knees, along with dried blood on her lips.

Other photographs show razor-blade cuts on her stomach, thighs and hips; puncture wounds allegedly caused by a fork and long scratches running down her back, the affidavit says.

The victim told investigators she was eventually able to escape only after waiting for Canestrini to fall asleep.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Animal Cruelty"}]

The cruelty to animals charge stems from allegations involving the woman's cat.

According to court documents, she reported Canestrini picked up the cat and was "squeezing the f*** out of him."

[{"type":"text","text":"When the cat cried out in pain, she reportedly begged him to stop."}]

Canestrini responded by "picking the cat up by the throat and slamming it to the floor," according to the affidavit.

The woman told investigators he then said, "I will treat this cat however the f*** I want."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Search Warrant"}]

Before investigators arrived to execute a search warrant at the residence, neighbors reported seeing Canestrini leave the area on foot carrying a duffle bag, the affidavit says.

When detectives searched the home, they recovered a kitchen fork, a knife and items believed to contain blood evidence. The affidavit notes detectives detected a strong odor of bleach in one of the bathrooms.

On Tuesday, a detective reportedly spotted Canestrini riding in a vehicle registered to his father. During a traffic stop, Canestrini identified himself and was taken into custody that day. 

Canestrini remains jailed pending a Wednesday preliminary hearing in Sweetwater County Circuit Court.

A Rock Springs man was in court Thursday, accused of holding a woman captive for days and torturing her with a razor blade and fork. "I will murder your cat,” police say he told her. "I will murder your ... family if you get the cops involved."

Daily Darwin: Friday, May 1, 2026

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