There should have been red flags as soon as she saw this guy’s photos.
With that being said, she was new to the country and maybe didn’t understand how crazy many people are, especially ones you meet online.
The best we can hope for now is that justice is served and the man is punished, but you never know with our justice system.
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.
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 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.
The last WhatsApp message came on March 9, her father said.
The three siblings share a cell phone family plan. After Gakwa’s brothers could not reach her, they looked through her phone records and called a close friend she’d talked to numerous times.
That’s how they found out she had been living with her boyfriend, Nathan Hightman, 39, in a modest three-bedroom house in Gillette. The couple had dated since 2020, but had broken up several times, Wainaina said. Her brothers thought they’d parted ways and were not aware they’d rekindled their romance and moved in together.
Hightman told the officer he last saw Gakwa in late February, when she came home one night, packed her clothing in two plastic bags and left in a dark-colored SUV, the affidavit said. He told police he hadn’t heard from her since. He also said he withdrew money from her bank account so she would be forced to contact him if she needed money, the affidavit said.
In April, Gillette police issued a statement naming Hightman “a person of interest” in the case and saying, “he has not made himself available to detectives looking to resolve questions that exist in the investigation.”
The police added, “Irene went missing under suspicious circumstances. … digital evidence, including location data, is also being analyzed and has provided positive leads.”
Stroup, the detective, said the investigation is ongoing.
“In the event probable cause is established, appropriate action will be taken,” he said.
I don’t trust the cops, so we can only pray that Hightman gets what he deserves.
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