Irene Wairimu Gakwa was born in Kenya and grew up alongside her two older siblings. But, after turning 30 years old, she decided to move to the United States in May 2019 in pursuit of higher education.

So, Irene set her sights on Boise, Idaho, where her older brothers lived. And while she was focused on enrolling in nursing school, Irene still made staying in touch with her Family back home a top priority.

“We used to talk on WhatsApp all the time,” recalled Francis Gakwa, Irene’s father.

In 2020, though, Irene met a man named Nathan Hightman on Craigslist. And after they started dating, they eventually started living together in Meridian. At the same time, Irene began nursing school at the College of Western Idaho.

Then, by July 2021, Irene told her brother that she and Nathan planned to move to Arizona. But things took a turn, and the pair secretly relocated to Gillette, Wyoming, instead.

After moving, Irene reportedly lived in a three-bedroom home with Nathan while attending classes at Gillette Community College.

But while Irene had always kept in close contact with her loved ones, her brothers claimed that, after she started dating Nathan, that changed.

“He seemed quiet,” Irene’s brother, Kennedy Wainaina, said of Nathan. “Didn’t say much. He told me he doesn’t really have any friends.”

Irene and Nathan also started missing out on family functions more often, and according to Kennedy, his sister’s boyfriend was “controlling.”

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“He started isolating us from our sister,” Kennedy added.

The last time Irene’s loved ones saw her was when she had a video call with her father, who was still in Kenya, on February 24, 2022. After that day, Irene never contacted her family again and has never been seen since.

Yet, on March 3, 2022, Irene’s brother started receiving strange text messages from Irene’s phone in which she discussed moving to Texas.

The communication was particularly unusual because Irene and her siblings typically spoke in a mix of Kenyan and Swahili slang. Yet, each message consisted mostly of English.

About two weeks after receiving these strange texts, Irene’s family then found out from their family phone plan that Irene had moved to Gillette without ever telling them.

At that point, they contacted the Gillette Police Department and filed a missing person report.

Irene and Nathan were known to have a tumultuous relationship, according to her family members. And given her disappearance, authorities began investigating Nathan Hightman as a person of interest in the case.

Nathan alleged that one night in February, Irene returned home late, packed her clothes away in two plastic bags, and left their residence in a dark-colored SUV. He claimed to have not heard from Irene ever since.

“All of her social media was deleted. Her friends hadn’t heard from her. All of us were freaking out,” Kennedy said.

During the investigation, however, it was discovered that Nathan had purchased a 55-gallon metal drum on February 24, 2022. And the very next day, his neighbors claimed he burned something in his backyard.

So, investigators searched Nathan’s home with cadaver dogs. Then, on May 10, 2022, he was arrested and charged with two felony counts of theft, two felony counts of crimes against intellectual property, and one felony count of unlawful use of a credit card.

Nathan was accused of moving almost $3,700 from Irene’s bank account into his own. Additionally, he allegedly spent $3,230 on Irene’s credit card to purchase a shovel, boots, and other items. Nathan also changed Irene’s banking password and deleted her email account.

Yet, after pleading not guilty to all charges on May 31, 2022, Nathan shocked Irene’s family after he changed his plea to guilty. This caused his bond to be revoked, and Nathan is now awaiting jail sentencing. Irene’s older brother, Kennedy, and his partner, Lucinda Anewenah, were there in the courtroom that day. And Lucinda recalled how it felt after watching Nathan get put in handcuffs.

“I think it just clicked for us. And we had a sense of relief. When we saw the bailiffs handcuff him, oh my God, he’s going to jail. He’s going to jail,” Lucinda recalled.

“We drove 12 hours there and 12 hours back, but it was worth the one hour that we were there to show that there was actually someone behind her. She has a family. There are people missing her; there are people wondering about her,” Kennedy added.

Still, Irene’s family has been left without answers as to what really happened to her. So, they have continued searching– creating a Facebook page entitled “Find Irene Gakwa” to raise awareness about her case– and holding onto hope.

“Anything done in the dark will come to light. The hardest thing is waiting for that light to come through,” said Tarisai Githu, Irene’s cousin.

At the time of her disappearance, Irene was five foot one, weighed 90 pounds, and had black hair and brown eyes. She also wore glasses. If you have any information regarding Irene’s disappearance, you are urged to contact the Gillette Police Department at (307) 682-5155.

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