Wyoming
Survivalist describes 4 ways Wyoming college professor missing in wilderness could have disappeared
One year after a Wyoming college professor mysteriously vanished after leaving for a bike ride in the mountains, local police are still searching. And survival experts wonder what led an experienced outdoorsman to disappear into the wilderness.
Authorities are still searching for 39-year-old Nash Quinn after he disappeared while mountain biking in Albany County, Wyoming.
Quinn, a visiting professor of jewelry and metalsmithing at the University of Wyoming, was last heard from July 8, 2024, and is believed to have left for a bike ride sometime before July 21.
While his last-known location remains unknown, Quinn typically frequented three popular areas while riding — Happy Jack, Roger’s Canyon and Sheep Mountain — according to police.
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Nash Quinn, a visiting professor of jewelry and metalsmithing at the University of Wyoming, was last heard from July 8, 2024. (The Laramie Police Department)
The Laramie Police Department declined Fox News Digital’s request for comment, citing the ongoing investigation.
Despite efforts to locate Quinn, he has yet to be found nearly one year later.
The mystery surrounding Quinn’s disappearance raises questions about how a seemingly healthy and experienced biker could have fallen victim to Wyoming’s wilderness.
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Nash Quinn disappeared after leaving for a bike ride in the Wyoming mountains in July 2024. (The Laramie Police Department)
“It’s a very brutal environment,” Jason Marsteiner, founder of The Survival University in Colorado, told Fox News Digital. “You have to have some respect for your surroundings, wherever you are. So, in a nutshell, the core survival skills you need to learn are communication, fire, shelter, water and food.”
Quinn, an avid outdoorsman, would often leave for bike rides without bringing much gear and prided himself on being a minimalist while enjoying the elements, according to Cowboy State Daily.
After Quinn went missing, his cellphone, wallet and car keys were reportedly discovered inside his apartment. Quinn would also leave for short rides without bringing water, his friends told the local outlet.
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Quinn disappeared in one of Wyoming’s peak summer months, when the days can reach high temperatures but dip into cooler weather after the sun goes down. The wide range could have posed a significant risk to Quinn, potentially resulting in hypothermia if he was not properly shielded from the elements overnight.
“Quinn’s a minimalist,” Marsteiner said. “He just takes his bike out. That’s a common thing. A lot of people do that. They don’t think anything of it. But the temperatures at night can drop, even in July, to [around] 45 degrees, and it’s potentially a rainy season.
Authorities say Nash Quinn’s white bicycle is also missing nearly one year after he disappeared while on a bike ride in Wyoming. (The Laramie Police Department)
“If you get stuck out there, and you don’t have anything, hypothermia is a very real thing. And your body shuts down pretty fast with hypothermia.”
After Quinn’s disappearance, police said his white mountain bike also had not been found, a key detail that could have led authorities to finding him if it had been a more vibrant color.
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“He has a white bike [with] black tires,” Marsteiner told Fox News Digital. “It blends in easily.”
For weeks, authorities searched nearly 70,000 acres for Quinn on foot, bike and horseback, while using drones and helicopters. But even with aerial searches, Marsteiner warns, it can be hard to spot someone who is stationary.
“When they’re flying over top and looking down, they can see movement really well,” Marsteiner said. “If he’s just laying there, and his bike is just laying here, and it’s wedged underneath a rock or a bush, they’re not going to see him.”
The search for Quinn was taken over by the Albany County Sheriff’s Office, but investigators reportedly have since reduced search efforts and are only following up on leads.
“The case remains open until we get any other new information or some other reason to close it,” Sheriff Aaron Appelhans told Cowboy State Daily. ” We don’t have any information to pinpoint a search area.”
The Albany County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
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Nearly one year after Quinn’s disappearance, the Laramie Police Department is asking for anyone visiting the mountains to continue looking for Quinn, and experts implore those who are in the wilderness to take the steps to protect themselves.
“This all comes from the heart,” Marsteiner said. “I really hope that this is a learning experience. Unfortunately, I really feel like Nash has perished, and I feel for his family. If we can save one more life by talking about what happened with Nash here, then it’s all worth it.”
CASPER, Wyo. — High school athletics in Wyoming could see some drastic changes in the coming years following legislative changes to the state’s education budget, the Wyoming High School Activities Association recently announced in a statement.
According to the WHSAA, Wyoming school districts are facing a projected $3.9 million shortfall in activities funding, forcing officials to consider significant cuts to high school sports and extracurricular programs.
The WHSAA shared details regarding a new “silo” funding model implemented by the Legislature, stating that the recalibrated block grant model reduced funding for student activities and extra-duty responsibilities from $46.3 million to $42.4 million, an approximately 8.4% decrease statewide.
WHSAA Commissioner Trevor Wilson said the restructuring also restricts district access to an additional $76.2 million in previously flexible funding.
“A significant portion of the [April 28 WHSAA Board of Directors] meeting was dedicated to discussing the projected funding shortfall,” Wilson wrote.
The WHSAA is weighing several strategies to address rising costs with fewer resources. Proposed changes include eliminating regional tournaments and reducing the number of teams qualifying for state events from eight to four; limiting wrestling to two classes and restricting track and field state participants to the top 16 marks; making cuts to soccer, indoor track and field, Nordic and Alpine skiing, swimming and diving, spring golf and tennis; and reducing in-person speech and debate events by half and centrally locating All-State Music events to minimize travel. The board also recommended increasing gate admission or implementing student participation fees to offset costs.
While the WHSAA release states that no plans have been finalized and the various changes are currently just possibilities, Natrona County School District 1 Board of Trustees member Mary Schmidt criticized the WHSAA’s handling of the news at Monday’s board meeting.
“I take some issues with this, [including] the sheer fact that we as Board of Trustees members have not talked about that at all,” Schmidt said. “It is not our intent and it has not been brought to us to cut our athletics or activities budget for the upcoming school year. … I take issue with them picking sports and getting the community upset and ginning them up to be upset that this is all going to be cut when that hasn’t been discussed.”
Later in the meeting, Superintendent Angela Hensley clarified that Natrona County School District 1’s athletics and activities budget saw a reduction of roughly $550,000 in the coming year’s budget, but said the local school district does not plan to cut any sports.
“Thank you, Trustee Schmidt, for saying this, because I think people are wondering — we are not planning to cut athletics and activities for next year,” Hensley said. “We do have to take a look at our entire budget as we have talked about, as we learn more about these new rules that come in.”
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Republished with permission from Wyoming News Now, a TV news outlet covering the Cheyenne and Casper areas.
Cheyenne City Council has introduced a temporary moratorium, or pause, on new data center construction.
“The end goal is to actually have regulations in place, to have really heavy public involvement with this with data centers,” said Councilman Mark Moody.
The proposed ordinance is not a permanent ban on data centers and would not affect data centers currently under construction.
Councilman Moody says this is a bipartisan issue.
“I just want to make this clear, I’m not against data centers. We do need them from a national security perspective,” he said.
He said there needs to be more public input and regulations regarding data centers in Cheyenne.
The ordinance would require city staff to study data center impacts such as electricity usage, electricity tariffs, closed-loop cooling systems, groundwater impacts, agricultural impacts, and land value.
Cheyenne LEADS, the economic development corporation for Cheyenne and Laramie County, reported in November 2025 that there are 12 operational data centers in Wyoming, five under construction and plans for 43 data centers announced across the state.
“There needs to be more public input with this, and also to see how many we can sustain here in this community, cause there are talks of 43, and then another day 70. How many can we sustain here?” said Councilman Moody.
The proposed moratorium will now go to the Public Services Committee on Monday, May 18 at noon in the Municipal Building.
Sheridan will play in the North Regional Tournament at Gillette, while the South Regional Tournament will be played at Rock Springs.
North Regional Tournament at Gillette:
Checking record vs. highest team in the quadrant not involved in the tie, Thunder Basin gets the #1 Northeast seed over Campbell County, because the Lady Bolts went 3-1 vs. Sheridan, whereas the Lady Camels went 2-2.
Friday, May 15th:
(#1 NE) Thunder Basin vs. (#4 NW) Jackson – 11am
(#2 NW) Natrona County vs. (#3 NE) Sheridan – 11am
(#2 NE) Campbell County vs. (#3 NW) Kelly Walsh – 1pm
(#1 NW) Cody vs. (#4 NE) Worland – 1pm
Semi-Finals:
Thunder Basin/Jackson winner vs. Natrona County/Sheridan winner – 3pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Campbell County/Kelly Walsh winner vs. Cody/Worland winner – 5pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Consolation Round:
Thunder Basin/Jackson loser vs. Natrona County/Sheridan loser – 3pm LOSER OUT!
Campbell County/Kelly Walsh loser vs. Cody/Worland loser – 5pm LOSER OUT!
Saturday, May 16th:
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
2 10am winners vs. each other – 1pm 3rd Place
TBA vs. TBA – 1pm 1st Place
South Regional Tournament at Rock Springs:
Friday, May 15th:
(#1 SW) Laramie vs. (#4 SE) Torrington – 11am
(#2 SE) Cheyenne East vs. (#3 SW) Green River – 11am
(#2 SW) Rock Springs vs. (#3 SE) Wheatland – 1pm
(#1 SE) Cheyenne Central vs. (#4 SW) Cheyenne South – 1pm
Semi-Finals:
Laramie/Torrington winner vs. Cheyenne East/Green River winner – 3pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Rock Springs/Wheatland winner vs. Cheyenne Central/Cheyenne South winner – 5pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Consolation Round:
Laramie/Torrington loser vs. Cheyenne East/Green River loser – 3pm LOSER OUT!
Rock Springs/Wheatland loser vs. Cheyenne Central/Cheyenne South loser – 5pm LOSER OUT!
Saturday, May 16th:
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
2 10am winners vs. each other – 1pm 3rd Place
TBA vs. TBA – 1pm 1st Place
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