MORAN, Wyo. — The body of a missing Nampa, Idaho woman was found in her car in the Buffalo Fork River near Moran on Monday, July 8.
Laura Lane, 54, who had been missing since early June, was deceased when she was found, Teton Country Coroner Dr. Brent Blue confirmed to Buckrail.
Lane’s cell phone last pinged a tower in the Signal Mountain area on June 2. After she failed to return home that day, local law enforcement agencies issued a “be on the lookout” alert for her as a missing person. No further information about her whereabouts came to light until Friday, July 5, when two men fishing in the Buffalo Fork River off of US 89 south of Moran Junction found a wallet with her ID in it, according to Sgt. John Faicco of the Teton County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO).
The fishermen alerted TCSO about the discovery of the wallet two days later on Sunday, July 7, when they did an online search and found that it belonged to a missing woman, Faicco told Buckrail. Law enforcement went that day to the river where the wallet was found to look for evidence of Lane and her car, a 2013 Dodge Dart, and found a headlight on the bank that looked as though it had been pulled out of the water. A trace of the light’s serial number showed it to belong to a car the same make and model as Lane’s.
Footage taken by drone subsequently revealed a ripple coming from water running over the roof of what later turned out to be Lane’s car, located upstream from where the wallet was found, according to Faicco.
The next day, law enforcement, including TCSO, Wyoming State Highway Patrol and Grand Teton National Park rangers, returned to the scene to extract the car. Lane’s body was found inside.
More information including Lane’s cause of death was not available by press time. This is a developing story and we will continue to provide updates as soon as more details are available.
