The Disappearance Of Irene Gakwa—Boyfriend Pleads Guilty To Financial Crimes But Gakwa Remains Missing

Topline

Nathan Hightman pleaded guilty to withdrawing and spending thousands of dollars from his girlfriend Irene Gakwa, whose disappearance in Gillette, Wyoming, more than a year ago has drawn widespread interest and conspiracy theories.

Key Facts

Gakwa was last seen on February 24, 2022 during a video chat with her family and was reported missing by her brother about a month later.

Hightman, whom Gakwa had been living with, pleaded guilty to theft, unlawful use of a credit card and crimes against intellectual property Tuesday for reportedly withdrawing $3,700 from Gakwa’s bank account, spending $3,230 on her credit card and changing her online bank password—all after she disappeared.

Hightman pleaded not guilty to the charges when he was first arrested in May 2022 on five felony charges, but changed his plea Tuesday in exchange for prosecutors dropping one count of theft and one count of crimes against intellectual property, Gakwa’s older brother Kennedy Wainaina told CNN.

Hightman’s $10,000 bond—which he’d been out on since May—was revoked following his plea and he was taken into custody.

Key Background

Gakwa immigrated from Kenya to Idaho in May 2019 to study nursing. Gakwa started dating Hightman in 2020 after they met on a Craigslist forum, and they moved to Wyoming together in July 2021. Gakwa’s relationship with Hightman was on and off, her family claims, and they didn’t know that he and Gakwa had moved to Wyoming together until they reported her missing. She had told them she was moving to Arizona for a warmer climate, Gakwa’s older brother Chris told the true-crime TV show Dateline. Gakwa’s family became suspicious in late February when Gakwa stopped video chatting and started texting to them in English instead of Swahili. They reported her missing shortly after her texts stopped on March 9.

Tangent

Hightmen testified in an affidavit that Gakwa left voluntarily in late February after packing her clothes and leaving their house in a dark SUV. He officially became a person of interest in April 2022 after police announced they were looking for information about a gray or silver Subaru Crosstrek with Idaho license plates (which matches Hightman’s car) seen driving on rural or private land in Campbell County, Wyoming between the time Gakwa was last seen and when she was reported missing. The police also announced that they were interested in a 55-gallon metal drum that could have been burned or abandoned. The police told Gakwa’s family that one of Hightman’s neighbors reported a fire in an oil drum in Hightman’s backyard while Gakwa was missing, her brother Kennedy Wainaina alleges, but police have not confirmed this statement. A search of Hightman’s house in October 2022 revealed a shovel and boots he had reportedly purchased with Gakwa’s money—no other findings were publicized.

Surprising Fact

A group of women from Gillette have conducted period searches over hundreds of miles for the elusive 55-gallon drum, CNN reports. The searches have reportedly turned up plenty of oil barrels—Campbell County has lots of oil and natural gas fields—but none containing evidence. Some barrels can’t be searched because they’re on private property, potentially explaining why police are interested in cars that trespassed on private land around the time of Gakwa’s disappearance.

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Key Facts

Key Background

Tangent

Surprising Fact

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