Irene Wairimu Gakwa, 32, was reported missing from Gillette, Wyoming, after last confirmed contact during a WhatsApp video call with family on February 24, 2022; NamUs gives a last-contact date of March 4, 2022, when her phone stopped pinging the network. Irene had moved from Kenya to the United States in 2019 and was living in Gillette with her boyfriend, Nathan Hightman, while studying nursing. She is described as a Black woman with black hair and brown eyes, about 5 feet 1 inch and roughly 89 to 90 pounds, with pierced ears.

Hightman told police Irene left on her own, saying she was unhappy and departed in a dark-colored SUV with two plastic bags. Authorities identified Hightman as a person of interest; he has not been charged with causing her disappearance. After Irene vanished, investigators traced financial activity on her accounts. Hightman later pleaded guilty to felony financial and intellectual-property crimes involving her—stealing money, using her credit cards, and deleting her email—and was sentenced in 2023 for those offenses. Reports say purchases traced to Irene’s card included a shovel and boots bought in late February 2022.

The Gillette Police Department lists this as case 22-06184 and can be contacted at 307-682-5155. If anyone knew Irene, her routines, or saw a dark-colored SUV in Gillette in late February to early March 2022, please come forward with information.