GILLETTE, Wyo.—In the latest twist in the Irene Gakwa case, court records show 33 witnesses will appear in the upcoming trial of Nathan Hightman, including the owner of a house in San Antonio where public records indicate Gakwa may have lived.

GILLETTE, Wyo.—In the latest wrinkle in the high-profile Irene Gakwa case, prosecutors and the defense for the missing woman’s fiancé have requested a longer trial and potentially a change of venue due to concerns that the defendant would not receive a fair trial in Gillette.

GILLETTE, Wyo.—In the deepening mystery of the disappearance of Irene Gakwa, new information has emerged indicating that the Kenyan who lived in Gillette may have recently moved to San Antonio, Texas, according to a search of public records by the Wyoming Truth.

A stash of text messages obtained by the Wyoming Truth sheds light on the deepening and complex relationship between a missing Kenyan woman and her fiancé even as her oldest brother cautioned them to “take things slow” in their budding relationship.

Nearly 10 months after Irene Gakwa disappeared from her Gillette home, her family still has more questions than answers as they attempt to piece together the mystery of what happened to her.

GILLETTE, Wyo. – The blinds are drawn in the windows of the pale blue ranch house in northern Campbell County where Irene Gakwa once lived. The 33-year-old Kenyan moved to this single-story house in July 2021 with her fiancé, Nathan Hightman. She has since disappeared. Nobody has seen or heard from Gakwa since her last video call with her parents in late February.

GILLETTE, Wyo.—Nathan Hightman is no stranger to tragedy.

Much has been said and written about the strange and troubling disappearance of his fiancé, Irene Gakwa, from this part of coal country in Wyoming. But lost in the hue and cry is who’s at the center of the story—Hightman himself—and the little-known fact that, when he was in his early 20s, his mother was murdered at her home by her estranged ex-husband.

GILLETTE, Wyo.—Who is Nathan J. Hightman?

It’s a question that many people are asking—from Gillette to Nairobi. For the past 10 months, Hightman’s name has been splashed across headlines and his image broadcast on network news as the fiancé of Irene Gakwa, 33, the Kenyan nursing student who vanished last winter.

Ken Van Buskirk, 54, disappeared from his home on July 28, 2014. Nearly 18 months later, his body was found near a water tank in downtown Lusk, an area that had previously been searched multiple times in daylight with the help of cadaver dogs. Ken’s death remains a mystery, and his 83-year-old father, Ernie Van Buskirk, wants answers. Check out part one of this story here.

LUSK, Wyo.—By all accounts, Ken Van Buskirk was no angel. Along with an extensive rap sheet, Ken also had a drug addiction and drinking problem that had led to several arrests and DUIs, his father, Ernie, told the Wyoming Truth. Ken’s lifestyle put him in the company of other drug addicts, Ernie noted; he thinks they may have killed him.

LUSK, Wyo.—The 83-year-old father of a man whose body was found on a hilltop is seeking answers in the unsolved death of his son, as local police take a second look at the open case.

Kenneth “Ken” Van Buskirk went missing on July 28, 2014. According to family members who spoke to Ken the evening he disappeared, the 54-year-old Navy veteran reportedly sounded impaired and spoke of two men in his house who were trying to kill him.

The search for Irene Gakwa continued over the weekend, nearly a month after law enforcement officials conducted their second search of the house Gakwa shared with her fiancé, 39-year-old Nathan Hightman, to recover evidence related to the Kenyan's disappearance last winter.

Lauren Moser was 4 years old when her father, Danny Moser, was killed. Today, on the 21st anniversary of his death and as the case remains under active investigation, the 25-year-old Casper mom and college student has only vague memories of him. But she has been told by family that she looks exactly like her father, right down to his distinct cleft chin, and walks and talks like him, too.

A recent survey suggested that human trafficking is on the decline nationally, but experts warn that it is a largely unreported crime in Wyoming and beyond.

GILLETTE, Wyo.—The Gillette Police Department and FBI staged an investigation at the house of the fiancé of the missing Gillette resident on Thursday morning after securing warrants to investigate evidence tied to the case.

GILLETTE, Wyo.—The first buyer is 15 minutes away. He’s driving from South Dakota to Gillette to ostensibly have sex with a 16-year-old girl who advertised on a social media site.

Nearly half—45%—of judges in Wyoming served as prosecutors before they took the bench, according to a Wyoming Truth survey and analysis of all 57 circuit, district and state supreme court judges in the state.