On Tuesday, searchers discovered potential clues believed to be linked to the disappearance of a Wyoming woman.
According to Cowboy State Daily, Tami Lynn Sturgeon, 55, was last seen Saturday evening south of Bishop Road in Gillette. Sturgeon and her husband had been hunting in the Yellow Hammer Buttes earlier in the day.
As search efforts intensified on Tuesday, investigators uncovered a shoe print and a cigarette butt matching the brand Sturgeon smoke. They said the print and butt were found in the vicinity where her husband last saw her.
The couple reportedly returned to the area before Sturgeon disappeared, and and separated to search for her missing cell phone, which investigators subsequently located Saturday night.
Tami Lynn Sturgeon, 55, has been missing in the rugged Yellow Hammer Buttes near Gillette since Saturday afternoon, reportedly looking for her lost cellphone. Searchers recovered the phone Tuesday, but Sturgeon remains missing.https://t.co/o4G5o0quEU
— Cowboy State Daily (@daily_cowboy) March 26, 2024
Neighboring counties pitched in to aid in the search, with teams utilizing a drone from Crook County on Wednesday. A Black Hawk helicopter from South Dakota conducted an aerial sweep over the area on Monday.
“We very rarely have search and rescue missions,” Undersheriff Quentin Reynolds said, according to Gillette News Daily. “These other agencies do their locations, they run a lot more missions, they’re a little more up to date on those things than us.”
Reynolds mentioned that Sturgeon would have had to walk several miles in either direction from where she was last spotted to reach a road or a coal mine. Although there are some potential shelter spots, Reynolds said he was concerned about the cold weather.
“It’s a guessing game right now.”
The story is developing. Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Tami Lynn Sturgeon/Facebook]
