A 56-year-old Centennial, Wyoming, man died after slipping on steep terrain while hiking near the Falls Overlook in Albany County.
Michael Werkeiser was descending into a narrow crevice when he fell into Mullen Creek, according to a Saturday report from the Albany County Sheriff’s Office.
Werkeiser is believed to have suffered a head injury during the Friday fall, which resulted in him becoming unconscious. He became trapped in the fast-flowing water.
Another member of his hiking group immediately went into the creek after him in an attempt to save Werkeiser, the sheriff’s office reports.
Albany County deputies were dispatched to the Falls Overlook area on Forest Service Road 307 at 7:47 p.m. Friday after receiving a 911 text message.
Werkeiser was still alive at that time, but was unconscious and having difficulty breathing, the text said. Emergency communication continued via text message because of the remote location and lack of cellular service.
Members of the Albany County Sheriff's Office's High Angle Rescue Team, Albany County Search and Rescue, Laramie Fire Department and Centennial Volunteer Fire Department coordinated a complex rescue effort.
Responders rappelled about 30 feet into Mullen Creek to reach and recover both Werkeiser and the hiking companion who had gone into the creek after him.
Werkeiser was pronounced dead at the scene, and the person in the water with him was released after refusing medical treatment.
'He Would Give You the Shirt Off His Back'
People took to social media following the accident to remember Werkeiser as an adventurer and a “salt-of-the-earth” person.
For Teresa and Kirk Strom, memories of Werkeiser are forever tied to one of the most unusual days of their lives — their wedding atop Devils Tower in 1994.
The Stroms had met Werkeiser through a tight-knit group of rock climbers in Laramie in the early 1990s.
When the couple decided to get married, they skipped the traditional church ceremony and opted instead for a low-budget adventure befitting a group of recent college graduates. They climbed Devils Tower and handed out flyers inviting friends to join them on the summit.
“We ended up with about 18 or 19 people on top,” Teresa Strom recalled. “Mike was one of the friends that summited Devil’s Tower with us.”
A local minister agreed to climb up and perform the ceremony, turning the mountaintop gathering into what Strom remembers as a remarkable celebration among friends.
Werkeiser was there for all of it, along with several friends who had traveled from Pennsylvania.
“It was a pretty big deal,” she said.
Strom described Mike as the kind of person who never hesitated to help others.
“He was a good guy. He’d give you the shirt off his back,” she said.
Even when years passed between visits, reconnecting with him felt effortless, she said, adding that “there could be a lapse in seeing him, but you’d never feel that distance.”
Over the years, Werkeiser joined the Stroms on numerous outdoor adventures. They fished, camped, mountain biked and snowboarded together.
“Mostly, he just hung out with us,” Strom said with a laugh. “Mike was up for anything.”
Werkeiser originally came to Wyoming as a truck driver, but quickly found a community among the state’s climbers and outdoor enthusiasts, Stom said.
Before long, he decided to stay.
“I think he fell in love with Wyoming and found his home,” she said.
After learning of his death, Strom found herself digging through old boxes and trunks, searching for photographs from that long-ago wedding on top of Devils Tower.
She said she plans to share them with his family — snapshots of a friend who was there for one of life’s biggest moments and who remained part of their circle for decades afterward.
