Remains of the missing Worland woman found
WORLAND (WNE) — The remains of 28-year-old Worland woman Breanna Mitchell have been recovered in Washakie County, according to a statement from the Washakie County Sheriff’s Office released on March 24. It’s been nearly two years since she was reported missing.
Skeletal human remains were discovered by a Wyoming Game and Fish warden who was tracking a deer collar on Sunday in the Nowater Badlands southeast of Worland, the same area where Mitchell’s vehicle was discovered in July 2023.
On Monday, Washakie County Coroner Jeff Lapp confirmed the identity of the remains as Mitchell, after comparing her teeth to dental records provided by Mitchell’s dental office.
Mitchell was originally reported missing on July 22, 2023, at 8:59 p.m. by her boyfriend Christian Romero. He stated he had a phone call with her at 5 a.m. that morning where she described getting her vehicle stuck in the Nowater Badlands.
Romero searched the badlands but stopped looking after not finding Mitchell and alerted law enforcement that she was missing when she failed to return that night.
A formal search and rescue investigation began on July 22, 2023.
Mitchell’s unoccupied vehicle was found at 10:28 a.m. on July 23. It was stuck about two miles off the main Nowater road. The area surrounding the vehicle was searched extensively for 20 days by search and rescue teams from seven counties, many civilians, and numerous agencies.
At the close of a final large-scale search on Aug. 11, 2023, no additional leads to Mitchell’s whereabouts had been found.
Her remains were found by the game warden 1.05 miles north of her vehicle, according to a statement provided by Brookwell.
“The area where Ms. Mitchell was located is consistent with the rugged badlands terrain of the region, characterized by steep hills, deep ravines and dense sagebrush. These challenging conditions likely contributed to the difficulty in detecting her remains during the initial searches, despite the extensive efforts of search teams and volunteers,” he said.
Brookwell noted that a cause of death has yet to be determined.
The investigation into her death is ongoing.
This story was published on March 27, 2025.