Crime and Courts Reporter

Clair McFarland

Clair McFarland is a general assignment reporter for Cowboy State Daily and is based in Riverton, Wyoming. She specializes in crime and court reporting and social issues coverage. Clair also writes a twice-monthly column on motherhood and country living.

Previously, Clair wrote for The Ranger, the Lander Journal and the Wind River News. She is an award-winning journalist, columnist and poet, who joined Cowboy State Daily on Valentine's Day, 2022.

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Latest from Clair McFarland

A judicial nominating commission tasked with helping Wyoming's governor fill a seat left vacant by the state Supreme Court’s chief justice has nominated three candidates for his consideration, including Wyoming Attorney General Bridget Hill. She's seen here during a fireside chat with state attorneys general presented by the Techology Policy Institute.

Wyoming Attorney General Bridget Hill Among 3 Nominated For State Supreme Court

A judicial nominating commission Monday named Wyoming Attorney General Bridget Hill, private attorney Anna Reeves Olson and Judge Stuart Healy as three candidates for a soon-to-be-vacant state Supreme Court seat.

Clair McFarlandMarch 26, 2025

16-Year-Old Girl Accused Of Shooting Two Men Asks To Be Charged As Child

The attorney for Addisyn Rain Marie Fisher is asking a judge to send the 16-year-old's case to juvenile court. Fisher, from Rock Springs, is charged as an adult in the shooting of two men and has an arraignment hearing Thursday.

Clair McFarlandMarch 25, 2025

Full Semitrailer Smashes Through Shed, House In Upton

A semitrailer full of bentonite smashed through the side of a storage shed and a vehicle, then halfway through a house Monday in Upton. The man living in the house was in bed when the truck “pushed his bedroom out the other wall.”

Clair McFarlandMarch 25, 2025

The Carbon County Sheriff’s official and personal Facebook pages have been hacked, Sheriff Alex Bakken says, but Facebook says otherwise. Bakken is calling in DCI and federal law enforcement.

Carbon County Sheriff's Facebook Page Back After Hackers Used It To Sell Crypto

UPDATE: Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken reported Tuesday afternoon that, after days of working with Meta and Cowboy State Daily, his Facebook page has been restored. A hacker took it over Friday and used it to sell cryptocurrency.

Clair McFarlandMarch 25, 2025

“But I don’t want to have to feel like I’m somehow making a political statement every time I drive it,” said Keren Meister-Emerich, a Wyoming Tesla Cybertruck owner. “I’m just out for a drive.”

Wyoming Tesla Owners Bristle At Destruction Campaign

Wyoming Tesla owners remain concerned about the attacks on Tesla products and properties happening nationwide. The FBI launched a task force Monday to investigate the crimes officials call “domestic terrorism.”

Clair McFarlandMarch 24, 2025

Several of a Union Pacific train's shipping containers toppled Monday north of Rock River. It's unclear if train car frames derailed with them. Area winds reached at least 40-50 MPH, judging from wind sensors in the surrounding areas.

Freight Containers Topple Off Train North Of Rock River

Several of a Union Pacific train's shipping containers toppled Monday north of Rock River. It's unclear if train car frames derailed with them. The mayor speculated it was because of high winds which reached over 60mph during the morning.

Clair McFarlandMarch 24, 2025

Cody Man Found Hallucinating After Mother's Stabbing Sent To Mental Hospital

The case against a Cody man accused of stabbing his mother after claiming he had been hallucinating and that she had "little people" annoy him is on hold. A circuit court judge agreed that he should be committed to a mental hospital until deemed sane.

Clair McFarlandMarch 24, 2025

Clair McFarland: Don't Harass Your Banjo Player

Clair McFarland writes, "Little-Feisty played ‘Joy to the World.’ Even with that banjo being just a pan, a neck, five strings and some invisible sprites, I could hear it well above the sound of ‘Thunderstruck.’”

Clair McFarlandMarch 24, 2025

Marcie Smith of Glenrock, inset, received two years' probation last week after evidence surfaced that she was behind a yearlong effort to stalk a sophomore girl and her boyfriend. Now, the teen and her family are pushing for enhanced penalties where adults stalk minors.

Glenrock Teen, Family Recall Harrowing Year Of Stalking, Impersonation

A Glenrock, Wyoming, woman got two years' probation last week after evidence surfaced she was behind a yearlong effort to stalk and impersonate a teen girl and her boyfriend. Now, the girl and her family want enhanced penalties when adults stalk minors.

Clair McFarlandMarch 24, 2025

Four charging stations at the Tesla Supercharger at 2441 Ffoothill Boulevard in Rock Springs, Wyoming, were vandalized wtih swastikas either late March 21 or early March 22, 2025.

Swastikas Spraypainted On Tesla Chargers In Rock Springs

An escalating nationwide trend of vandalizing Tesla electric vehicle products has reached Wyoming, with a row of Rock Springs Tesla Superchargers spraypainted with swastikas either late Friday night or early Saturday morning.

Clair McFarlandMarch 22, 2025

The Carbon County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, along with the sheriff’s webpage, were both hacked Friday at about noon, Sheriff Alex Bakken reports.

Brief: Carbon County Sheriff's Office Facebook Page Hacked

The Carbon County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, along with the sheriff’s own Facebook page, were both hacked Friday at about noon, the sheriff reports.

Clair McFarlandMarch 22, 2025

Former Wheatland Music Teacher In Jail On Child Sex Charges, Could Get 400 Years

Accused of sex acts with a minor he met while he was her teacher, a former Wheatland high school and middle school band instructor is facing a maximum potential penalty of more than 400 years in prison. Evan Bradley's preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Monday.

Clair McFarlandMarch 21, 2025

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Wyoming Supreme Court building in Cheyenne.

Wyoming High Court Expands Right To Remain Silent, Throws Out Molestation Conviction

A striking Wyoming Supreme Court ruling defends people’s right to remain silent more vigilantly and could change how prosecutors try cases. The Thursday ruling also throws out the conviction of a Casper man accused of sexually touching young girls.

Clair McFarlandMarch 21, 2025

Rock Springs tow truck operator Zack Krone was hit by a rogue pickup while cleaning up a semitrailer crash on Interstate 80 on Wednesday morning. His wife, Elizabeth, tells Cowboy State Daily that he suffered serious injuries and is recovering in a Casper hospital.

Tow Truck Driver Hit On I-80 By Rogue Pickup Recovering In Casper Hospital

A tow truck operator is recovering after losing a kidney and suffering other organ ruptures. A rogue pickup struck him Wednesday on the shoulder of Interstate 80 outside of Wamsutter, Wyoming.

Clair McFarlandMarch 20, 2025

Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction was in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, March 20, 2025, to attend President Donald Trump's signing of an executive order to eliminate the Department of Education.

Degenfelder Cheers Dismantling of U.S. Dept. Of Education At White House Signing Ceremony

Wyoming education chief Megan Degenfelder, who attended President Trump's executive order signing which dismantles the Dept. of Education, said Thursday's action was a "historic day for education in America, and a win for American students."

Clair McFarlandMarch 20, 2025

Orion Schlesinger, 18, pleaded “not guilty” and ”not guilty by reason of mental illness” at his Thursday arraignment in Sublette County District Court.

Death Penalty Off The Table For 1 Teen Charged In Deadly Bow-And-Arrow Ambush

The death penalty is off the table for one of two Big Piney, Wyoming, teens accused of conspiring to kill a man in a bow-and-arrow ambush. But the prosecutor said Thursday he’s not ready to say if he’ll seek death for the teen accused of firing the bow.

Clair McFarlandMarch 20, 2025

Tranyelle Harshman, the Byron, Wyoming, woman who fatally shot her four children then herself last month had depression and anti-anxiety medications in her system, according to a coroner’s investigation report released Thursday.

Byron Mom In Murder-Suicide Had Depression, Anxiety Meds In System

The Byron, Wyoming, woman who fatally shot her four children then herself last month had depression and anti-anxiety medications in her system, according to a coroner’s investigation report released Thursday.

Clair McFarlandMarch 20, 2025

Smoke pouring out of the westbound Green River Tunnel on I-80 on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025.

Report: Pickup Losing Control Leaving Green River Tunnel Started Fatal Crash

The National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday released its preliminary report on the Green River Tunnel disaster. It says a pickup truck lost control as it exited the westbound tunnel and started the 26-vehicle, triple-fatality crash on February 14, 2025.

Clair McFarlandMarch 20, 2025

Mary Couch, 70, of Alabama, was identified as the victim in Saturday’s I-80 crash outside Rawlins on Saturday. The driver accused of killing Couch was released from jail on a $20,000 cash bond.

Woman Identified In Fatal Crash Outside Rawlins That Closed I-80 For Hours

Mary Couch, 70 of Alabama, was identified as the victim in Saturday’s I-80 crash outside Rawlins on Saturday that closed the interstate for hours. The driver accused of killing Couch was released from jail on a $20,000 cash bond.

Clair McFarlandMarch 20, 2025

Dash cam video posted to Facebook by Lance Paul Scarpellino with a warning to "be careful out there" appears to show the scene where a tow truck driver was hit responding to this crash Wednesday morning.

Tow Truck Operator Responding To Crash Hit By Pickup On Icy I-80 Near Wamsutter

A tow truck operator recovering vehicles from night crash near Wamsutter along Interstate-80 was struck by a pickup Wednesday, the Wyoming Highway Patrol reports. The operator was life-flighted from the scene.

Clair McFarlandMarch 19, 2025

Wyoming Supports Trump's Plan To Deport Members Of Violent Venezuelan Gang

When 26 Republican-led states urged a court Tuesday to stop a judge's block on Trump's plan to deport Venezuelan gang members, Wyoming wasn't among them. But that's because of timing, not a lack of support, the Wyoming attorney general says.

Clair McFarlandMarch 19, 2025

Riverton Police Say They Caught Man Who Stole Car With Baby In It

The Riverton Police Department said Tuesday it caught a 28-year-old man accused of stealing a vehicle with a 3-month-old baby in it, then abandoning both the car and baby west of Riverton, Wyoming, last month.

Clair McFarlandMarch 18, 2025

Commercial trucks make their way through Rawlins on a detour around a fatal crash Saturday near Exit 215 on Interstate 80.

Brief: Trucker Suspected Of Causing I-80 Crash That Killed Another Trucker

A Washington state trucker has been charged with homicide by vehicle after a Saturday crash on I-80 near Rawlins. He’s accused of crashing into another semitrailer, killing a person in the truck’s sleeper cab.

Clair McFarlandMarch 18, 2025

Gillette Man, 77, Accused Of Offering Sex Act To Teenage Boy

A 77-year-old Gillette man accused of soliciting a 15-year-old boy for sex could face between five and 12 years in prison. His case rose to felony-level court Thursday after a monthslong delay that included a mental fitness evaluation.

Clair McFarlandMarch 18, 2025

Former Jackson Hole Fire Chief Ned Brady Hansen, right, has been charged with aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor in Utah. Authorities there say he trafficked in child pornography and had a sexual encounter with the same judge who declined to keep him in jail, Kevin Robert Christensen.

Former Jackson Hole Fire Chief Accused Of Sex Acts With Judge, Having Child Porn

Former Jackson Hole Fire Chief Ned Brady Hansen has been charged with aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor in Utah. Authorities there say he trafficked in child pornography and had a sexual encounter with the same judge who declined to keep him in jail.

Clair McFarlandMarch 18, 2025

Since 2021, the Wyoming Department of Health has spent about $8.4 million in federal money on pro-vaccination advertising. That money is drying up, but not because of the Trump administration.

Wyoming Health Dept Says Trump Not The Reason $8.4 Million For Vax Ads Ending

The Wyoming Dept of Health has spent about $8.4 million in federal public money on pro-vaccine advertising since mid-2020. It expects the last of those grants to expire this year, but not because of President Trump's new vaccine-skeptical health secretary.

Clair McFarlandMarch 17, 2025

Cheyenne Man Accused Of Pepper-Spraying Cops During Fight In Driveway

A Cheyenne man's case rose Friday to the felony-level court, on claims he pepper sprayed cops while interfering with a woman's traffic stop. The man reportedly also cursed and spat racial slurs at police as they investigated a DUI at his house.

Clair McFarlandMarch 17, 2025

State Trooper Arrests Suspected Illegal Immigrant With 18,000 Rounds Of Ammunition

An illegal immigrant was arrested Friday near Rawlins for carrying 18,000 rounds of rifle ammunition, according to the Wyoming Highway Patrol. Ricardo Paez-Quinones faces up to 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and/or deportation if convicted.

Clair McFarlandMarch 17, 2025

Nicholas Blackburn, center, walked to the Fremont County jail transport van Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, after pleading not guilty to killing his friend.

Riverton Man Accused Of Beating Friend To Death Strikes Plea Deal Before Trial

A Riverton man accused of beating his friend to death and leaving him for his parents to find has agreed to plead guilty. The agreement came just days before his manslaughter trial was to start Monday.

Clair McFarlandMarch 17, 2025

Clair McFarland: Mom Says No More Mountain Haggery On The Video News

Columnist Clair McFarland writes: "Mom wants me to look clean and polished on Cowboy State Daily’s video newscast. But I want to exude enough mountain haggery to terrify the out-of-staters."

Clair McFarlandMarch 15, 2025