Press Releases & News Articles

The console of Stacy Koester’s black Audi is stashed with items not found in most cars: Blue latex gloves. Allergy medicine. Bandages. Small utility knives. But she’s not a physician making house calls. She’s part of a team of women in Gillette, Wyoming, who are devoting much of their time looking for clues in the case of a missing woman they have never met...

Correspondent Adrienne Broaddus reports investigators in Wyoming are asking for your help in finding Irene Gakwa. They're specifically looking for information regarding a 55-gallon drum that may have been burned. Tipline: 307-682-5155.

Irene Gakwa's last WhatsApp video call with her parents was filled with gentle ribbing. But beneath the banter were hints that something was off.

When her face appeared on the phone screen, her dad teased her that she looked hungry and tired. Her smile was more subdued, he noted. Her short hair, usually braided, was rumpled.

"Make sure you drink hot milk and relax," her dad said from his living room in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

That was February 24, the last time anyone in her family saw her...

In 2019, 29-year-old Irene Gakwa made a big move: she flew from her home in Kenya to the United States to start a new life. Irene had always loved helping people, and she was going to turn that love into a career by studying nursing. Fortunately, Irene already had a support system in the states: her two brothers, Chris and Kennedy lived in Boise, Idaho, and she was going to join them. Everything was going according to plan, and Irene even fell in love. But her family alleges that her boyfriend was no Prince Charming. They say that he was controlling and worked to isolate Irene from her family.

On February 24, 2022, Irene had a video call with her parents. She hasn’t been seen since. Did she, as her boyfriend claims, decide to pack up and move once again, or has something much worse happened to Irene?

GILLETTE, Wyo.—Stacy Koester apologized for her messy car. A squashed can of Bang energy drink and empty plastic water bottle were strewn on the driver’s side floor. A gas receipt was tucked into the center console beside an open box of light blue surgical gloves and half pack of cigarettes. 

Her sporty black Audi is normally spotless, she said, but in recent weeks the car has seen a lot of use. Koester has logged  hundreds of hours scouring the vast countryside in northern Campbell County looking for Irene Gakwa, the missing 33-year-old Kenyan...

This podcast covers unsolved cases and tells the stories of haunted places of Wyoming. Families share insights of their loved ones, along with what they know about the day everything changed. And, we also explore some of the unexplainable mysteries hidden in the great Wyoming landscapes. Join us every other week for a full episode and weekly for case updates from around the state.

On Tuesday, May 10, 2022 at approximately 3:30 p.m., the Gillette Police Department arrested Nathan J. Hightman. Hightman, a person of interest in the Irene Gakwa missing person case, has been charged with two felony counts of theft, one felony count of unlawful use of a credit card, and two felony counts of crimes against intellectual property. Irene is the victim of these crimes.

If you have information that can solve this or any other crime, please call Crime Stoppers at 307-228-4276. You can remain anonymous and may earn up to $1,000 in reward...

Francis Kombo speaks to Citizen Digital on how his daughter Irene Gakwa went to the USA in 2019 with a dream of starting a career in healthcare had been missing since March...

Irene Gakwa’s last WhatsApp video call with her parents was filled with gentle ribbing. But beneath the banter were hints that something was off.

When her face appeared on the phone screen, her dad teased her that she looked hungry and tired. Her smile was more subdued, he noted. Her short hair, usually braided, was rumpled.

“Make sure you drink hot milk and relax,” her dad said from his living room in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

That was February 24, the last time anyone in her family saw her.

A month later – less than three years after Gakwa left Kenya for the United States – her family reported her missing. At the time of the February video call, Gakwa’s parents were not aware she was living in Gillette, Wyoming, with a man she’d met on a Craigslist forum...

Gillette, Wyo.—Everything is suspect out here. Debris scattered along the roadway that would normally go unseen was suddenly being scrutinized: discarded plastic Sprite bottles, tattered garbage bags, pieces of burnt wood and a faded running shoe flung behind a barbed-wire fence. Even a pile of sun-bleached bones likely belonging to a deer or antelope warranted a second look. 

On Saturday, each object was examined by the small search party that continued to look for Irene Gakwa, the 32-year-old Kenyan who disappeared in late February from her home in Gillette...

GILLETTE — Stacy Koester and Melissa Bloxom carried the wire frames and waterproof yard signs to where the newly cut lawn met the overgrown yard next door.

Placing the sign and frame in place, with a mallet in hand, Koester, 39, and Bloxom, 40, gently tapped each sign into the ground near the edge of the property line, leaving an image of Irene Gakwa facing the curtained-up house beyond the tall grass...

Out of Gillette, Wyoming comes the story of Irene Gakwa. Described as calming, quiet and adventurous, Irene was reported missing on March 20, 2022. In this episode I talk with Irene's oldest brother, Kennedy Wainaina about Irene and also the red flags that pushed the family to report Irene missing. I also speak to Carla Thurin, the Director of Safe House--Cheyenne about intimate partner violence. Then, joining me is Desiree Tinoco from the Facebook page: Missing People of Wyoming, where she provides updates about cases from around the state...

The 38-year-old fiancé of a missing Gillette woman and person of interest in her disappearance has pleaded not guilty to five felonies relating to crimes against her.  

Nathan J. Hightman has been accused of transferring more than $3,000 from Irene Wairimu Gakwa’s bank account into his account, maxing out her credit card on purchases including boots and a shovel, deleting her email account, and changing her banking password.

Hightman pleaded not guilty to all charges on Tuesday afternoon, according to his attorney, Steven Titus.

Irene, a 32-year-old woman from Kenya, is still missing and the Gillette Police Department have no new updates at this time...

By Nyaboga Kiage