Missing Gillette woman's cellphone found, search for her continues

GILLETTE (WNE) — A Gillette woman who went missing while trying to find her cellphone Saturday south of Bishop Road has not been found, although her phone has been found in a side-by-side she and her husband drove to the area.

Tami Lynn Sturgeon, 55, and her 60-year-old husband first went to the Yellow Hammer Buttes to shed hunt and watch elk Saturday. The two left before returning to search for her lost cellphone, Sgt. Gary Sams said Monday.

During the search for her phone, she and her husband became separated, and after he searched for her on his own, he called deputies to report her missing at about 7 p.m. Saturday. A multi-agency search has continued since Sturgeon was reported missing but has found no sign of her, Undersheriff Quentin Reynolds said Tuesday morning.

Searchers in a helicopter Monday also didn’t spot anything, Reynolds said. Search and rescue efforts were paused Monday night before dark for the safety of the searchers and began again at about 7 a.m. Tuesday.

Along with local law enforcement, Reynolds said the Sheriff’s Office is also coordinating with about 12-15 volunteers who are searching on foot.

Reynolds said the area Sturgeon disappeared in has two entry points; the main focus is trying to determine which way Sturgeon would have headed.

“We’re trying to figure out what she was thinking at the time,” Reynolds said. "… Does she try to go north where she thinks her husband’s still in the ATV or does she try to go to the lights and the noise.”

Sturgeon would have to walk miles in either direction she was last seen to reach a road or the coal mine, Reynolds said, adding that there are some places to shelter where she could've warmed up.

But the amount of time Sturgeon’s been outdoors in the cold and snow is a concern.

This story was published on March 26, 2024.