Last February, 32-year-old Irene Gakwa, who had moved from Kenya to the US, was talking to her family in Nairobi on a WhatsApp video call. Her father, Francis Kambo, noticed that she looked tired and less happy than usual, so she told her to rest and drink milk. Little did he know that this was the last time that he would talk to his youngest daughter.

Irene’s family grew worried when she failed to answer her family’s WhatsApp calls after the February call. According to the family, they talked every other day. Her text messages also seemed weird, as if a translator app was being used, according to her brother. Her family also received a number of excuses, via text messages, as to why she was not able to answer their calls. One of them was that her phone’s microphone was broken, because, she apparently wrote, she accidentally dropped the phone in water.

In March, they finally reported her missing. This led them to discover that she had been living with 39-year-old Nathan Hightman, whom she met on Craigslist. The two were living in a three-bedroom apartment in Gillette, Wyoming.

Irene made the decision to move from Kenya to the U.S. in 2019, having decided to pursue a career in healthcare. In 2020, she first told her sister-in-law, Gyoice Abatey, that she was seeing Hightman while they were out on a trip. 

Irene and Hightman had an on and off relationship. Her family did not know that she was living with the man until her phone records were checked by her brothers. 

Hightman said that Irene left on her own, but what made Gillette, Wyoming police suspicious were Hightman’s activities after Irene’s disappearance.

It was discovered that Hightman had maxed out Irene’s credit card and withdrew more than $3,000 from her account. He also changed her passwords and deleted her email account. Hightman argued that he only did this to draw her attention and for her to come back to him.

But the authorities found out that he also bought boots and a shovel using Irene’s credit card. Hightman is now a person of interest but has pleaded not guilty to all financial crimes that he is accused of. He was released on a $10,000 bond and his pretrial will be in November, 2022.

Irene’s family, led by her brothers, who both reside in the U.S., continues to look for her. Morgues, hospitals, shelters, and even the military were asked if they saw her. The website, whereisirene.com, was also launched to hopefully assist with the search. 

The rest of the family in Kenya struggles with grief as they continue to monitor the search. Everyone continues to hope that they will find her soon.

ReplyReply allForward