Multiple Wyoming counties have sounded the alarm over an inexplicable surge of ‘unnatural deaths’ – leaving officials scrambling for answers as the body count continues to rise.
A chilling report warned that suicides, accidents, overdoses and murders are ‘through the roof’ and on pace to make this year one of the worst on record, Cowboy State Daily reported.
Natrona County Coroner Jim Whipps told county commissioners: ‘This has been an abnormal year, kind of a rollercoaster ride when it comes to unnatural death.’
‘Unnatural death in every form is going through the roof. I don’t know why that is, but homicides, suicides, overdoses … they are way above what would be average for us,’ he added.
Grim statistics reflect a disturbing picture, with 20 suicides already recorded this year, with five occurring in August alone.
A Wyoming county is in the grips of a surge in ‘unnatural deaths’ – leaving officials scrambling for answers as the body count continues to rise
Natrona County Coroner Jim Whipps told county commissioners: ‘This has been an abnormal year, kind of a roller coaster ride when it comes to unnatural death’
There have already been five homicides so far this year, compared to only three in all of 2023, the Cowboy State Daily reported.
On top of that, 36 people were left dead from crashes and workplace incidents – with drug overdose deaths also already surpassing 2023’s figures.
But perhaps most alarming is what Whipps calls one of the year’s biggest ‘shockers’ – a surge in young people in their 20s and 30s dying from ‘chronic alcoholism.’
The county has also been rocked by youth violence, with several high-profile killings making headlines across the state.
In June, 15-year-old Eavan Castaner was charged with the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Lenea Brown, who was shot in the head in a quiet southwest Casper neighborhood.
In Casper itself, Robert ‘Bobby’ Maher, 14, was stabbed to death on April 7 after defending his girlfriend from two teens at a mall.
The county has also been rocked by youth violence, with several high-profile killings making headlines across the state. Pictured: Mourners pay tribute to Robert ‘Bobby’ Maher, 14, who was stabbed to death
In June, 15-year-old Eavan Castaner was charged with the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Lenea Brown, who was shot in the head in a quiet southwest Casper neighborhood
In July, three members of gospel group The Nelons were killed in tragic plane crash. The group is formed of Kelly Nelon Clark, her husband Jason Clark, and Kelly’s daughters Amber Nelon Kistler and Autumn Nelon Streetman.
Kelly, Jason and Amber were among those killed in the accident, with Amber’s husband Nathan Kistler, and three friends also dead. They were traveling to the Gaither Homecoming Cruise when the plane crashed over a remote area of northeastern Wyoming.
While Whipps did not pinpoint an exact cause for the deadly surge, he warned that Natrona County is ‘on pace statistically to have another 2020-21 kind of record-setting year,’ referencing the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
But the crisis isn’t confined to Natrona County alone.
In nearby Campbell County, Coroner Paul Wallem reported a disturbing 36 percent increase in unnatural deaths, up from 33.3 percent in 2023.
Also in July, three members of gospel group The Nelons, were killed in tragic plane crash. They were traveling to the Gaither Homecoming Cruise when the plane crashed over a remote area of northeastern Wyoming. (Pictured: The Nelons, from left, Jason Clark, Autumn Nelon Streetman, Kelly Nelon Clark and Amber Nelon Kistler)
In nearby Campbell County, Coroner Paul Wallem (pictured) reported a disturbing 36 percent increase in unnatural deaths, up from 33.3 percent in 2023
There have been 31 unnatural deaths so far this year, he said.
‘At the start of the year we were seeing a noticeable increase in vehicle crashes like I haven’t seen in probably seven to 10 years,’ he told the outlet. ‘That has kind of normalized recently.’
However not all agree, with Park County Coroner Cody Gortmaker reporting no unusual spikes in his tourist-heavy region.
Some city officials said other Wyoming counties are not experiencing the same deadly trend.
Carbon County Coroner Brittany Nyman actually reported seeing a decrease in unnatural deaths.
‘We haven’t had any overdoses this year. It’s a little quieter this year for us,’ she said.
Whipps aired similar concerns in a recent documentary honing in on the county’s outsized amount of suicides,
Wyoming – which for years had the highest suicide rate of any state – is part of the ‘suicide belt’ running the swath of mountainous land from the tip of Montana down to New Mexico.
Whipps said in the 2023 film: ‘There’s been more research done on what’s going on around here from the altitude to the wind to the cowboy-up attitude that’s been prevalent in the state since its inception.
‘And nothing has panned out. There’s got to be something that’s different in the way that we think and formulate conclusions than a lot of the rest of the world, and I just don’t know what that is.
‘That’s probably one of the more frustrating things, because you can’t generalize it,’
Whipps continued. ‘Each case that I go out on is unique.’
Publicly available statistics support his claims, though it is unknown how he arrived at the conclusion that Natrona sports the fourth highest suicide rate in the world.
According to the coroner’s office, there were 28 suicides in the county in 2019. There were 19 in 2020, a 33 percent drop. The average from 2012-2019 was almost 24.
In nearby Campbell County, there’s been a disturbing 36 percent increase in unnatural deaths, up from 33.3 percent in 2023
Casper and the surrounding region has now surfaced as a hotspot, Whipps said. Suicides have also been seen in neighboring Mills and Evansville, where life is decidedly slow.
Robert ‘Bobby’ Maher, 14, was stabbed to death on April 7 after defending his girlfriend from two teens at a mall in Casper, Wyoming (Pictured: The memorial for Bobby Maher at Eastridge Mall, where the teenager was stabbed to death in Casper, WY)
Some attribute Wyoming’s high suicide rate to its few and far between landscape and lack of suicide prevention programs.
For the first time since 2017, Wyoming dropped from No. 1 in the country in terms of suicides last year, but has since reassumed the dubious distinction from Montana.
As of now, the state sports a 32.3 percent suicide rate out of all its deaths, fueled by 155 suicide deaths last year, according to the state Department of Health.
That’s down from 190 the year before, but Casper and the surrounding region has now surfaced as a hotspot, Whipps said. Suicides have also been seen in neighboring Mills and Evansville, where life is decidedly slow.
‘It’s time for a top-down approach through policy and implementing programs in the schools such as Sources of Strength, which is a broader-base proven program of resiliency,’ Whipps said.
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