Still Missing WY - Irene Gakwa, 32, Kenya native, living with a man, he's uncooperative, Gillette, 24 Feb 2022 *Arrest*

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GuyfromCanada said:
More at Boyfriend Now Considered 'Person of Interest' In Missing Gillette Woman Case | Cowboy State Daily
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RSBM

In Idaho, Irene went to school and worked and met her boyfriend on an online dating website. The couple lived together in Idaho for about one and one-half years before moving to Gillette, which the boyfriend’s idea, Wainaina said. [snip] He described the boyfriend as “controlling” and said his sister was having a hard time acclimating to Gillette given its small size, colder weather and the fact that she missed her family.


Boyfriend of Missing US-based Kenyan Woman Considered a 'Person of Interest' in Her Disappearance | Mwakilishi.com
SBBM
On March 3rd, the family received strange messages from Gakwa’s phone which announced her intention to relocate to Texas as she was unhappy with her life in Gillette. Her family said the texts were not in Kenyan language.

They also reported that her WhatsApp account was deleted on March 8th, ending group conversations with her family. A timeline provided by the family showed the last activity on her phone was on March 4th.
#More at link
 
An arrest has been made.

GILLETTE, Wyo.— Investigators have arrested a person of interest in the case surrounding the sudden disappearance of 32-year-old Irene Gakwa, the Gillette Police Department (GPD) said on Wednesday.

Gillette resident Nathan Hightman, 38, was arrested for multiple felonies on May 10; one for unlawfully using Irene’s credit card and two for crimes against her intellectual property, according to the statement.

county17.com

Person of interest arrested in Gillette missing woman case | County 17

county17.com county17.com
 
“A warrant for one of her credit cards, the affidavit continued, showed several charges totaling over $600, one of which occurred at Walmart for a shovel, a pair of boots, and a pair of pants that Hightman was seen carrying in a surveillance video of the transaction.

“The boots and shovel were later located at Hightman’s residence, which was searched with another warrant, per the affidavit.

“A warrant for another of Irene’s credit cards revealed a series of charges between February 25 and February 28 totaled $804, while another series of charges between March 1 and March 19 totaled $2,426, the affidavit states.

“Approximately 10 transactions were traced back to Hightman’s IP address; none of them traced back to Irene’s phone IP address, per the affidavit.”

Gillette man accused of stealing thousands of dollars from missing woman
 
imstilla.grandma said:
oilcity.news

Missing Wyoming woman’s fiancé pleads not guilty to theft, crimes against intellectual property

GILLETTE, Wyo. — A Gillette man who has been accused of using a missing woman’s finances without permission and is a person of interest in her
oilcity.news oilcity.news
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A more recent release in Gakwa’s case requested information concerning a silver or gray Subaru Crosstrek that may have seemed out of place in rural areas of Campbell County; police are also asking for information about a 55-gallon barrel that was either abandoned or used for burning.
#

Poor Irene. :( MOO
 
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A feet on the ground search for missing Gillette woman Irene Gakwa will begin at 7 a.m. Saturday. People can meet at the Sinclair on Laramie Street and Gurley Avenue before being dispersed into search groups.
www.gillettenewsrecord.com

Search for missing Gillette woman

A feet on the ground search for missing Gillette woman Irene Gakwa will begin at 7 a.m. Saturday. People can meet at the Sinclair on Laramie Street and Gurley Avenue
www.gillettenewsrecord.com www.gillettenewsrecord.com
1656630112677.jpeg
A peaceful protest for missing Gillette woman Irene Gakwa will take place outside her home on Pathfinder Circle at 7 p.m. Saturday.
www.gillettenewsrecord.com

Peaceful protest for missing Gillette woman

A peaceful protest for missing Gillette woman Irene Gakwa will take place outside her home on Pathfinder Circle at 7 p.m. Saturday.
www.gillettenewsrecord.com www.gillettenewsrecord.com
 
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“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 dating forum.

They also had no way of knowing that police would later accuse the man of removing money from her checking account, maxing out her credit card and deleting her email account. And they never imagined that six months would go by without a word from her.

“She’s always been a daddy’s girl,” said her father, Francis Kambo, in a recent phone interview from Nairobi. He took a deep breath as he recalled that last video call with his only daughter and youngest of his three children.

“She was supposed to come home for Christmas this year. I was going to buy that ticket myself for her to come if she couldn’t afford it,” he added, his voice shaking.

“Now I don’t know if I’ll ever see her again.”
www.cnn.com

She moved to the US with big dreams and met a boyfriend on Craigslist. Then she vanished

Irene Gakwa moved from Kenya with big dreams of a career in health care. In February, she vanished from the Wyoming house she shared with her boyfriend. The mystery on her disappearance is deepening, a community wants answers and her family fears the worst.
www.cnn.com www.cnn.com
 
www.ctvnews.ca

She moved to the U.S. with big dreams and met a boyfriend on Craigslist. Then she vanished

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. Now, her family is struggling between hope and grief.
www.ctvnews.ca www.ctvnews.ca

HER BOYFRIEND ALLEGEDLY BOUGHT BOOTS AND A SHOVEL USING HER BANK CARD

The Gillette Police Department said it has executed approximately 24 search warrants in the case, including at Hightman's home and at several banks to track activity on Gakwa's accounts.

During one of the searches, investigators recovered a shovel and boots Hightman bought at a Walmart in late February using Gakwa's Visa card, according to court documents.
 
It's unfortunate that they didn't name the POI earlier. Some possible tips and search time was lost.

I wonder why LE is mentioning that they would like tips about "a 55 gallon barrel that might have been abandoned or used for a fire"? That sounds concerning. (As if this case isn't concerning enough!! Irene's poor family! :(
 
So sad for Irene and her family. There is a Facebook group "Find Irene Gakwa". Obviously, the BF is the most obvious suspect but they need to find her and other evidence to move forward. Wish this had more publicity and more search teams for her. I have cousins in Gillette, small town. I'll be asking them if they are aware of this.
 
Irene Gakwa’s nearest family members, two brothers and a sister-in-law, live more than 700 miles away but travel to Gillette from Meridian, Idaho, to look for her several weekends a month. Her father, 9,000 miles away in Nairobi, Kenya, is worried he may never see his daughter again

Although the missing woman’s family is hundreds and thousands of miles away, community members have stepped in and kept the search going. Gillette resident Stacy Koester has posted daily updates on the search parties on TikTok and invites others to join. She hopes that it would pressure Hightman to speak up.

“Because we will not let it go cold. As you know, we are searching endlessly,” Koester said in a Sept. 4 TikTok video. “We will do so until we bring Irene home. We are really hoping at this point that Nathan will really feel backed into a corner. All we ask is that you speak to the police. Share your side of the story. Tell them. Nobody needs you to talk to them. Talk to the police.”

Gakwa’s family is holding on to hope that she will return home, but as the days go by, it starts to fade. Her mother is too distraught to speak to reporters, CNN reports.

“She was supposed to come home for Christmas this year. I was going to buy that ticket myself for her to come if she couldn’t afford it,” Kambo said, his voice shaking.

Growing up in Nairobi, Christmas was always Gakwa’s favorite holiday, her family recalled. Her nephews hosted a Zoom vigil in July for her 33rd birthday.

“I just want to know the truth. I’m still hopeful, but my hope is dwindling. She knows my number,” her father said.” The fact that she has not called …”
atlantablackstar.com

'I Just Want to Know the Truth': Family Members Search for Missing Woman, Last Seen in February Living with Man She Met on Craigslist Who Is Charged with Stealing Money from Her Bank Account, Using Her Credit Card

Concerned residents in Gillette, Wyoming, continued their search in kayaks and on horseback on Labor Day weekend scouring land and water for a local woman
atlantablackstar.com atlantablackstar.com
 
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