The call came at 1:39 p.m. Saturday: “Official time.”
On the other side of that radio was John LaBrec of Canine Team Seven. He and his K-9 Taz and WyoFind search and rescue volunteer Megan Leisy had just achieved the mission.
“Official time” was code word for human remains located.
Travis Bateman shot out of his folding chair and sprinted to the crackling walkie-talkie perched on the pickup truck’s side rail. A dozen or so searchers on a lunch break at incident command gathered behind him, peering over his shoulder.
“Copy,” Bateman said, jotting down coordinates and trying to pinpoint LaBrec’s location on the CalTopo map.
The dozen or so searchers looked at one another stunned.
After nearly three months of searching, it appeared they might have found the body of Derek Schaff. The 43-year-old Gillette man had been missing since his pickup truck and other belongings were discovered abandoned in the Weston Hills Recreational Area, north of Gillette, three months earlier.
Given the time that had passed, the searchers knew they were in for a recovery, not a live rescue.
The gravity of the moment was catching up to Stacy Koester, founder and president of WyoFind Search, Rescue and Recovery.
Her group had spent the last two months working with the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office to find Schaff, coordinating searches and bringing in K-9 teams and searchers from four states.
This was her fifth search for Schaff, and the biggest yet — more than 20 volunteers, some from out of state, including nine dog teams — that she’d spent countless hours coordinating around her full-time job.
On their last search in August, they’d discovered more evidence that proved Schaff had been there and helped establish a trail of breadcrumbs that helped searchers zero in on the area where he might have been.
Now it appeared they have finally found him within a half-mile radius of where Schaff’s truck and other belongings were found.
A crime scene technician from the Campbell County Sheriff's Office takes overhead footage of the scene. (Stacy Koester, WyoFind Search, Rescue and Recovery) 
SAR volunteers John LaBrec and Megan Leisy stand on the ridge above the ravine where they found the remains suspected to be Derek Schaff. (Stacy Koester, WyoFind Search, Rescue and Recovery) 
SAR team members help flag the route to the ravine where remains were discovered for law enforcement. (Stacy Koester, WyoFind Search, Rescue and Recovery) 
Weston Hills, an 8,000-acre recreational area managed by federal agencies, proved to be challenging terrain for SAR teams on their multiple searches over the past three months for Derek Schaff. (Stacy Koester, WyoFind Search, Rescue and Recovery)
Sheriff Confirms
The Campbell County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday morning that authorities are awaiting official identification pending Monday’s autopsy but “are confident” that the remains are those of Schaff, according to a statement shared with Cowboy State Daily.
Final confirmation will be determined through DNA testing through the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation’s crime laboratory, the statement said.
“The sheriff’s office would like to thank Stacy Koester, WyoFind and its volunteers,” the statement said. “It was through their dedication and determined efforts in extreme conditions and terrain that the remains were discovered and a family will have their loved one return home.”
Weston Hills, an 8,000-acre recreational area managed by federal agencies, proved to be challenging terrain for SAR teams on their multiple searches over the past three months for Derek Schaff. (Stacy Koester, WyoFind Search, Rescue and Recovery) 
Bobby and Stacy Koester discuss search logistics with Chris Misselt Saturday in the search for Derek Schaff. (Stacy Koester, WyoFind Search, Rescue and Recovery) 
Nine volunteer SAR K-9 teams from Wyoming, Colorado, Montana and Utah came to Gillette to help search. (Stacy Koester, WyoFind Search, Rescue and Recovery) 
A search and rescue volunteer glasses the terrain at Weston Hills recreational area Saturday during the search for Derek Schaff. (Stacy Koester, WyoFind Search, Rescue and Recovery)
Gravity of Moment
Koester paced in circles as her face crumpled into tears. The exhaustion – and elation – of that moment had finally caught up to her and the other searchers, many of whom were hugging one another with tears in their eyes.
Koester grabbed her cell phone to call the sheriff’s office.
The next task was to get to him. Bateman, who was helping to man incident command and had done the lion share of mapping, ferreted out LaBrec’s coordinates and attempted to work out the easiest route for both searchers and law enforcement to reach him and remove Schaff’s remains.
This was not an easy task. Bateman, who heads up Badlands Search and Rescue out of Watford City, North Dakota, knew the terrain well. He and his team had helped WyoFind on the last search, and had helped Koester will mapping.
It’s unforgiving land that tested the physicality both of the searchers and canines.
“We were dealing with steep terrain, drainages, tall vegetation, deadfall, post-fire timber and places where footing and access were difficult,” he said. “There are areas where two points may look very close together on a two-dimensional map but getting from one to the other on the ground can be an entirely different problem.”
Add to this the weather. The previous day it had rained and misted all morning, making footing in some areas tricky and turning hiking boots into plaster casts of gumbo.
Schaff’s body lay at the bottom of a ravine, about 14 feet down. Steep rock walls rose on all sides, sealing the deputies and coroner into a grim, logistical knot that Bateman was busy untangling.
Bateman figured out a viable route and hopped into his pickup with Koester and a handful of others to drive as close as possible to he remains as other volunteers grabbed pink tape to map the route for authorities.
Searchers mull over CalTopo maps discussing search routes before heading out Saturday morning. (Stacy Koester, WyoFind Search, Rescue and Recovery) 
Travis Bateman of Badland Search and Rescue answers the radio call that Derek Schaff's remains had been found. (Stacy Koester, WyoFind Search, Rescue and Recovery) 
Charlie George Jr. of Carbon County West Search and Rescue studies an object on the ground as he searches Saturday. (Stacy Koester, WyoFind Search, Rescue and Recovery) 
Dan Smith of WyoFind gets ready to head out Saturday with his search team. (Stacy Koester, WyoFind Search, Rescue and Recovery) 
SAR volunteer and South Dakota law enforcement officer Chris Misselt directs volunteers to secure the area after remains were discovered. (Stacy Koester, WyoFind Search, Rescue and Recovery)
Gravity Of Moment
It was a 30-minute hike to the spot where LaBrec, Taz, and Leisy stood waiting on a narrow strip of flat ground wedged between two steep ravines.
Chris Misselt, a seasoned search-and-rescue volunteer and South Dakota law enforcement officer, directed the others to tie neon pink tape to branches, marking the trail as he paced out the perimeter of the discovery site.
LaBrec was stoic as they waited for the authorities to arrive, a heavy bank of clouds advancing steadily over the hills toward them. Later, LaBrec would say the find had taken them by surprise.
He and Leisy were discussing heading back to incident command as soon as they finished working the contours of the grid in their assigned area when suddenly Taz caught a breeze on an upwind and shot down into the ravine and started barking.
The wind had been squirrelly that day, so LaBrec followed Taz into the ravine and spotted the remains.
“I went down for a better look to make sure,” he told Cowboy State Daily, “but I could tell from up above that we’d found him.”
LaBrec is a retired Teton County Sheriff deputy and seasoned canine handler with more than 14 years of experience. Now retired, he still volunteers with Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States (SARDUS) and Tri-State K-9 Search and Rescue, and he’s part of Jackson Hole Search Dogs, a nonprofit with five canine teams.
He’s seen a lot in his law-enforcement career, he said, and this was Taz’s second recovery. The 9-year-old Dutch Shepherd has been his partner since she was a puppy. He’s stopped counting how many recovery searches he’s joined over the years, he said — usually it’s some other handler’s dog that finds the remains.
This time they were lucky: They were searching the right spot.
He credited all the searchers, and Koester especially, for the determination that brought everyone there. It’s a feeling that’s hard to explain, he said.
“It’s just such a joy, you know, because you're out there trying to find closure for people and it’s kind of an elation,” he said. “And of course, you’re proud of your dog because I wouldn’t have seen the guy without her.”
Within a couple hours, the sheriff’s office showed up and helped Campbell County Coroner Paul Wallem remove Schaff’s remains
Celebrating Schaff’s Life
The Schaff family was still processing the news after receiving the call from Sgt. Gary Sams of the sheriff’s office Saturday. Sams notified them that remains had been found, said Melissa Schaff, Derek’s sister-in-law.
Melissa was still calling extended family Monday morning when word got out that remains were found. Her phone lit up with calls and messages.
To each one she explained that an autopsy was pending to confirm the identity, though the clothing and other evidence pointed to Schaff.
Melissa and her husband, Dominic Schaff, along with the rest of the family, thanked Koester, WyoFind, the volunteers, the sheriff’s office, and the community — those who had donated to their fundraiser to cover the searchers’ travel costs, and those who had supported them through it all.
She was not at the point where she could discuss Schaff in the past tense but instead wanted to celebrate his life and the many people he had touched, she said.
Melissa described her brother-in-law as a “deeply family-orientated person” — the youngest of four siblings, and father of two, someone who worked incredibly hard to provide for the people he loved.
“He is known by everyone as a caring, funny guy who loves to laugh, has a completely contagious laugh, and is famous among his co-workers for playing pranks and joking around,” Melissa said.
Schaff had a passion for the outdoors and love of hunting, fishing and exploring, she said.
“That is who Derek is: Someone who loves his family, loves to laugh, works hard, and feels at home in the outdoors,” she said.
Melissa further asked for privacy as the family awaits confirmation from the coroner’s office, and once again thanked Koester and the other volunteers.
Coordinated Effort
Koester stressed that it was a concerted team effort and would not have been possible without all the volunteers who came on their own time to search for a complete stranger, as well as the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office for trusting them to help in their efforts.
This included her team as well as nine SARDUS dog teams from Montana, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming as well as volunteers from Carbon County West Search and Rescue, Badlands Search and Rescue, Misselt, and the handful of volunteers who came from across the state.
She also thanked the many people who donated to the GoFundMe fundraiser specifically to pay for this search. Though the volunteers are not paid, WyoFind pays for hotel rooms, meals and gas money.
Left over money from the fundraiser will go toward upcoming efforts to search for Clifford “Russ” Haux, who disappeared 23 years ago in the Red Desert.
It'll also go to recovery efforts to remove barrels from the bottom of Fremont Lake thought to contain murder victims from 1980 following the confession of their killer, Gerald Uden, who provided locations to Koester through prison letters.
Koester was still emotional Monday when she discussed finding Schaff’s remains and returning him to his family.
“My heartfelt thanks goes out to everyone who helped us bring him home and give the family closure,” she said. “Without this collaboration between the searchers and the sheriff’s office, it would not have been possible.”
Jen Kocher can be reached at jen@cowboystatedaily.com.
