Community grieves with Breanna's family

Monday evening the Worland community got the news we had been waiting to hear for nearly two years. Breanna Mitchell had been found, although the outcome was not what everyone was hoping.

On Sunday, remains were found in the Nowater Trail area. The Washakie County Sheriff’s Office did not disclose the exact location of the discovery but in reading comments on the post, everyone was expecting it to be Breanna.

It was the topic of conversation, of course, here at the office but elsewhere in the community as we waited for confirmation of what we all feared.

It came about 7 p.m. Monday.

Breanna, 28, in 2023, went missing on Saturday, July 22, 2023, after her vehicle had become stuck out in the Nowater badlands.

Many resources and searches occurred throughout that summer, including one pond being drained, but Mitchell was not located.

Finally, Sunday, per the Sheriff’s Office release, a Game and Fish warden tracking a deer collar discovered Mitchell’s remains.

At this time there are still several unanswered question but the biggest question, and perhaps the most important for Breanna’s family, has been answered. They know where Breanna is now. They no longer have to wonder and worry. They can lay Breanna to rest.

Their grieving, however, will continue and our thoughts and prayers go out to her family and her friends. We will grieve with them, just as we had hoped with them since 2023.

As a community we cannot thank enough the many agencies, volunteers and organizations that helped search the area. Many did not know Breanna, but she was a member of our community, thus she was “family.” This is why we live where we do.

As we wait for some of those unanswered questions to be answered, we must realize that we may never have answers to some of them.

For the family and friends to heal we, as a community, must accept that we will be left with some unknowns. We must find solace in the fact that Breanna has been found. With this case I am reminded about the Idahoan Patrick Combs. Patrick went missing in the fall of 2015. His pickup was located in the Honeycombs area in 2017. His remains were discovered in May 2023.

Why Combs was in the area and what exactly happened, although foul play is not suspected, remains unknown, now nearly 10 years later.

Just as in the case with Patrick Combs, we may never know all the details around Breanna Mitchell’s death. With that realization we must not speculate, spread gossip or throw out false accusations, which is what has abounded for the past two years.

Gossip and innuendo, when not based on fact, does nothing but cause pain and prevent healing.

So, as we let the family and friends grieve, please remember to be kind and hold your loved ones near to you.