GILLETTE, Wyo. — A judge dismissed a request for a stalking protective order sought by the fiancé of a missing Gillette resident against a local woman he accused of harassment.

GILLETTE, Wyo.—Ashley Means heard about Irene Gakwa weeks ago and kept telling herself she should help with the search. Gakwa disappeared from her Gillette home in late February, prompting local resident Stacy Koester to organize and lead group searches beginning in mid-June.

GILLETTE, Wyo.—The fiancé of the missing Irene Gakwa has filed for a stalking protection order against a Gillette resident leading local searches to find her.

Gillette, Wyo.—Everything is suspect out here. Debris scattered along the roadway that would normally go unseen was suddenly being scrutinized: discarded plastic Sprite bottles, tattered garbage bags, pieces of burnt wood and a faded running shoe flung behind a barbed-wire fence. Even a pile of sun-bleached bones likely belonging to a deer or antelope warranted a second look.

GILLETTE, Wyo.—Stacy Koester apologized for her messy car. A squashed can of Bang energy drink and empty plastic water bottle were strewn on the driver’s side floor. A gas receipt was tucked into the center console beside an open box of light blue surgical gloves and half pack of cigarettes.

GILLETTE, Wyo.—The overgrown grass and weeds riffled in the light breeze as dozens of volunteers trudged through the irrigation ditches along former Highway 59, near the Dry Fork Mine in northern Campbell County last Saturday. The searchers squinted in the early morning sun under ball caps and straw hats while they poked through the thigh-high brush, looking for clues that might lead to the mysterious disappearance of Irene Gakwa.