CNN
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The household of a lacking Wyoming lady, final seen a 12 months in the past, is imploring the state’s governor to assist them discover solutions after months with out obvious new leads within the case.
Irene Gakwa was final seen by her household throughout a video name on February 24, 2022, and reported lacking in late March. She was 32 on the time.
An immigrant from Kenya, Gakwa lived within the Wyoming metropolis of Gillette together with her boyfriend, Nathan Hightman, who she met on a Craigslist discussion board. Hightman has been accused of transferring cash from her checking account, altering her on-line banking password, maxing out her bank card and deleting her e-mail account after she went lacking.
He has not been charged in her disappearance.
Gakwa’s family are making ready for Hightman’s monetary crimes trial, scheduled to begin April 3. They’re additionally combating many questions on why she vanished, her brother, Kennedy Wainaina, instructed CNN this week.
To mark the anniversary of when she was final seen, Wainaina and his cousin hand-delivered a letter and a change.org petition on Friday to Gov. Mark Gordon’s workplace on the state capitol in Cheyenne.
They traveled from Boise, Idaho, as a lot of the nation reels from a winter storm that dumped crippling quantities of snow and ice in northern states.
He stated the journey was borne out of desperation.
“It’s been an extended 12 months for my household. Not realizing what occurred to our sister … not a day goes by the place we don’t assume what occurred to her? Does she want our assist?” Wainaina stated.
“If one thing unhealthy occurred to her, we have to know so we will come to phrases with it and hopefully get some closure.”
For months, Gakwa’s household has sought solutions about what occurred to the faculty nursing pupil who moved from Kenya in Might 2019 with goals of working in an American hospital.
Brent Wasson, deputy police chief of the Gillette Police Division, stated the investigation is ongoing. “We’ve no updates to share at the moment,” Wasson instructed CNN in an e-mail Thursday.
Wainaina stated he and his cousin, Tarisai Githu, spent a couple of hours on the Wyoming state capitol Friday afternoon and met with state senators, together with representatives for Gillette. The governor was unavailable, Wainaina stated, however they left the letter and petition with somebody on his employees.
“State senators Eric Barlow and Lynn Hutchings sat down with us and listened to our story,” Githu instructed CNN. “We requested them to nudge the Gillette Police and the FBI to see if they’ve any data they will share with the household. We need to know – is the case chilly? Is there one thing they know? They haven’t instructed us something.”
Of their letter to the governor, the household expressed frustration in regards to the ignorance a 12 months after Gakwa disappeared.
“This letter is to request your administration take steps in shedding gentle on the efforts made so far within the seek for Irene Gakwa,” it stated.
A spokesperson for the governor stated the household’s letter shall be obtained in the identical method that each one in-person correspondence is dealt with.
“The governor is conscious of the case, and the very best ranges of legislation enforcement are collaborating within the investigation, together with the Wyoming Division of Felony Investigation and the FBI,” stated Michael Pearlman, the spokesperson.
Gakwa is the youngest of three siblings, and moved to the US with a inexperienced card to be nearer to her two brothers. Their mother and father dwell within the Kenyan capital of Nairobi whereas her brothers have settled in a suburb of Boise.
Her household reported her lacking to the Gillette Police Division on March 20, 2022, after they may not attain her for weeks by way of video calls, her favourite type of communication. After she was final seen on digicam in February, her household obtained messages from her telephone till early March. One message stated she couldn’t reply video calls as a result of her telephone’s microphone wasn’t working.
A lot of the messages had been in formal English, in contrast to the Kenyan slang she was recognized to make use of in earlier messages, Wainaina stated. That sparked purple flags, leaving the household questioning if another person was sending messages from her telephone. The final message stated she was transferring to Texas earlier than her telephone went silent, he added.
After her brothers reported her lacking, Hightman instructed police that Gakwa got here dwelling one night time in late February, packed her clothes in two plastic luggage and left in a dark-colored SUV, in keeping with an affidavit of possible trigger. He stated he hadn’t seen or heard from her since.
CNN has known as, texted and emailed Hightman, 39, a number of occasions, however he’s not responded.
In April, Gillette police issued an announcement naming him “an individual of curiosity” in his girlfriend’s disappearance, saying, “he has not made himself accessible to detectives” searching for solutions.
He has not been charged in her disappearance and has pleaded not responsible to the alleged monetary crimes in opposition to her.
Court docket paperwork allege that between February and March, Hightman transferred almost $3,700 from Gakwa’s checking account to his personal and spent a further $3,230 on her bank card. Hightman instructed investigators he withdrew the funds to pressure her to contact him when she ran out of cash.
Gillette police arrested him in Might and charged him with two felony counts of theft, one felony rely of illegal use of a bank card and two felony counts of crimes in opposition to mental property for allegedly altering her banking account password and deleting her e-mail account after her disappearance.
Throughout an preliminary search of Hightman’s home, investigators recovered a shovel and boots he purchased at a Walmart in February final 12 months utilizing Gakwa’s Visa card, courtroom paperwork say.
Since her disappearance, Gillette police investigators have shared a couple of cryptic leads.
In April, they launched an announcement saying Gakwa might have been taken to a rural space, mine website or oil and gasoline location in a passenger car or crossover SUV.
The following month, Gillette police stated they had been requesting details about “a 55-gallon steel drum, which can have been burned and/or deserted inside the county.” Over the previous few months, a gaggle of girls in Gillette have led weekend search events for the drum or any potential clues.
Stacy Koester, one of many volunteer searchers, delivered an analogous petition to the Gillette Metropolis Council and the Gillette Police Division on Friday.
Investigators have additionally stated they’re looking for details about a grey or silver Subaru Crosstrek with Idaho license plates which will have trespassed on non-public property between February 24 and March 20. The automotive is registered to Hightman.
Investigators have declined to supply extra particulars, citing ongoing investigations.
In October, varied companies, together with the FBI, searched Hightman’s dwelling. Gakwa’s household stated they haven’t obtained data on the search or what – if something – was discovered on the dwelling that the couple shared.
