Found Deceased WY - Tami Lynn Sturgeon, 55, missing where she and her 60-year-old husband returned to after they had been shed hunting, Gillette, 23 Mar 2024

[carbuff]

I hope they have some searchers on horseback as well as the ATVs. In that irregular brush-covered terrain, which is not as smooth and flat as it looks, the extra height of a mounted rider can give a better perspective into ditches, behind dunes, and under sagebrush.

 

[Hestia's Fire]

It looks like they are doing air searches as well as searching on the ground, per this article:

Searchers Recover Missing Gillette Woman’s Cellphone, But No Sign Of Her

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.

cowboystatedaily.com

On Monday afternoon, five people boarded a Blackhawk helicopter from Rapid City, South Dakota, to do an aerial search of the area. Even with technology like thermal spotters, the helicopter search yielded no tangible clues to Sturgeon’s location.

 

[carbuff]

Using the locations given in the Gilette News Record article (Shoe print found as neighboring counties join search for missing Gillette woman) this is the general area where they're searching:

Bishop Road to Cordero Rojo Complex

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[Jo in Calif]

Odd he couldn't see her in that wide open terrain you posted. I can't imagine you'd go too far looking for a phone.

The Yellow Hammer Buttes area Sturgeon went missing has rough terrain, including ravines, buttes and tree lines that make for a more complicated landscape to navigate than some of the flat prairie land found on the north side of Bishop Road.

Shoe print found as neighboring counties join search for missing Gillette woman

Searchers found evidence Tuesday believed to have been left behind by a missing Gillette woman, as neighboring counties plan to join the search for the woman who went missing in

www.gillettenewsrecord.com

 

[asmi106082]

Odd he couldn't see her in that wide open terrain you posted. I can't imagine you'd go too far looking for a phone.

MOO based on being raised in a rural area, the Google Earth images could have been taken in the fall or winter, when local crops would be cut and fields would be clear. Depending on what’s planted in those fields, visibility right now could be completely different than in the images. IME

 

[Hestia's Fire]

MOO based on being raised in a rural area, the Google Earth images could have been taken in the fall or winter, when local crops would be cut and fields would be clear. Depending on what’s planted in those fields, visibility right now could be completely different than in the images. IME

Good point. I went back to look and the screenshot I posted was of Google Street View in November 2021. Google also allows you to see the area as it looked in June 2012 and there didn't appear to be a huge difference except a little bit of relatively short grass along the road.

I'm amazed they couldn't spot her from the air when they were searching with the helicopter. Maybe she found somewhere to curl up and attempt to keep warm when night fell, and then succumbed to the elements.

 

[acutename]

Good point. I went back to look and the screenshot I posted was of Google Street View in November 2021. Google also allows you to see the area as it looked in June 2012 and there didn't appear to be a huge difference except a little bit of relatively short grass along the road.

I'm amazed they couldn't spot her from the air when they were searching with the helicopter. Maybe she found somewhere to curl up and attempt to keep warm when night fell, and then succumbed to the elements.

was she wearing orange or something?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Few Clues On Fourth Day Of Search For Missing Gillette Woman

A shoe print and a cigarette butt are the only clues in the ongoing search for Tami Lynn Sturgeon, 55, in the rugged Yellow Hammer Buttes near Gillette, who’s been missing for four days.

cowboystatedaily.com

“She discovered her phone was missing and they went back to that area to search for it and then they got separated,” Sams said, adding that the snow and cold weather complicated the search. Sams said the woman was dressed for the weather Saturday and the two had a backpack with some supplies, but that pack was not with Sturgeon.

Search continues for missing Gillette woman

GILLETTE (WNE) — Search and rescue efforts continue for a 55-year-old woman who went missing Saturday evening south of Gillette.

www.buffalobulletin.com

 

[Hestia's Fire]

was she wearing orange or something?

Good question. I scrolled through the Wyoming hunting regulations website and it's not currently any kind of hunting season, so she may not have felt it necessary to wear orange.

 

[acutename]

Good question. I scrolled through the Wyoming hunting regulations website and it's not currently any kind of hunting season, so she may not have felt it necessary to wear orange.

I just picture it getting dark and maybe even snowy and the visibility would not be great. They do not say what time it was that she became "missing." The area looks rocky and possibly confusing (as in "no landmarks") if she had not been there many times before.

 

[carbuff]

I haven't driven through that part of Wyoming for years, but it doesn't look like it has changed much. It's very dry and the soil isn't very fertile. You'll find some crop land, especially near creeks or the occasional small pond, but in the main it's grazing land, with patches of grass alternating with sagebrush and bare rocky ground.

The sagebrush can be very thick and hard to push through. It doesn't look that tall in the photos, but it's often chest high to an average woman. If she fell down in the sagebrush, or sought shelter there to get away from the snow, she would be very hard to see.

edited to add: I see elsewhere that she was seen farther up the hills, at the treelike. The terrain up there is quite rugged and the visibility under the trees is worse.

 

[slowpoke]

“Sturgeon was last seen in a treeline in a section of the Yellowhammer Buttes that is rougher country than other areas close to Bishop Road, which is much more open, Campbell County Undersheriff Quentin Reynolds said.

“The terrain is not what most people are envisioning. It’s a different beast down in that area, so to speak.”

Campbell County Sheriff’s Office provides update in search operations for missing Gillette woman | County 17

county17.com

 

[Hestia's Fire]

“Sturgeon was last seen in a treeline in a section of the Yellowhammer Buttes that is rougher country than other areas close to Bishop Road, which is much more open, Campbell County Undersheriff Quentin Reynolds said.

“The terrain is not what most people are envisioning. It’s a different beast down in that area, so to speak.”

Campbell County Sheriff’s Office provides update in search operations for missing Gillette woman | County 17

county17.com

That makes a lot more sense as to why she hasn't been found yet.

Oh, this poor lady. Not even a flashlight with her to try to find her way.

 

[acutename]

“Sturgeon was last seen in a treeline in a section of the Yellowhammer Buttes that is rougher country than other areas close to Bishop Road, which is much more open, Campbell County Undersheriff Quentin Reynolds said.

“The terrain is not what most people are envisioning. It’s a different beast down in that area, so to speak.”

Campbell County Sheriff’s Office provides update in search operations for missing Gillette woman | County 17

county17.com

she weighed 100 lbs... but she had matches with her... I just picture the phone thing (thinking it is lost when you have it) as something that happens when you are already really tired and need to be home. wouldn't she have heard her husband calling out when she got lost...or is the wind so loud that you cannot hear?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Crook County units assisted searches with a drone Wednesday, and units from Johnson and Washakie counties will be aiding in Thursday’s search, according to Campbell County Undersheriff Quentin Reynolds.

Sturgeon was last seen in a treeline in a section of the Yellowhammer Buttes that is rougher country than other areas close to Bishop Road, which is much more open, Campbell County Undersheriff Quentin Reynolds said.

“The terrain is not what most people are envisioning. It’s a different beast down in that area, so to speak.”

Reynolds stressed that the investigation was strictly search-and-rescue given that the evidence found at Sturgeon’s last known location was consistent with the husband’s account of events. No foul play is suspected.

“There’s no reason for us to go the other way at this point.” Reynolds said. “Yesterday when we found the footprint and everything, we were like, ‘Yeah, at least we know the story is matching up. She was here.'”

Campbell County Sheriff’s Office provides update in search operations for missing Gillette woman | County 17

county17.com

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Tami's Facebook page - Tami John Sturgeon

Lots of family love and sharing.... there are so many people that must be in total misery right now.....

 

[moonriverfarm]

Not looking good for her survival.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The Campbell County Sheriff's Office emphasizes that this remains a search and rescue operation. There is no evidence to suggest Tami was harmed, and rumors to the contrary are unhelpful.

Tami's husband and family are cooperating fully and actively assisting in the search.

Search for Missing Gillette Woman Continues

Resources from Weston, Crook, Johnson, Sheridan, and Natrona County have donated aid in the search effort.

k2radio.com

 

[Catmommy]

Maybe I've just been here too long, but this isn't sounding right to me.

 

[orchidaceaes]

Missing Gillette Woman Found Dead, No Foul Play Suspected

The five-day search for Tami Sturgeon, 55, ended tragically Thursday afternoon. The Campbell County Sheriff’s Office announced that her body was discovered less than two miles from where she went missing on Saturday.

cowboystatedaily.com

RIP Tami