A Wyoming mother of two has been missing for several days after she failed to pick up her children from an after-school program. Her sister reported her disappearance, saying the missed pickup was completely out of character.
Kandice Gunter, 30, was last seen in Natrona County on the morning of Oct. 29, according to the Casper Police Department. Her sister, Kayla, said Gunter did not collect her 9- and 6-year-old children from the Boys & Girls Club the day before.
“That’s why I started freaking out,” Kayla said. “It’s totally out of character for her not to show up to get her kids.”
Police said Gunter was believed to be traveling in a gray 2016 GMC Canyon pickup with a temporary Wyoming registration. Her cellphone was last detected around 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 30 along Highway 387, near the Natrona County line.
The sisters last spoke by phone at 10:41 a.m. on Wednesday. Kayla said nothing seemed wrong during the conversation, but Gunter stopped answering calls afterward. The family was also told her phone had registered near Gillette around noon that day.
Gunter had moved from Nevada to Casper about a month earlier to be nearer to her children. She had been staying with their father and helping care for them.
“I looked so hard but there’s so much wide open spaces with one set of sad eyes hope you’re okay!! 14 years you’ve been in my life and can’t end it like this Kandice Gunter,” Facebook user TK Kentopp wrote early Saturday.
In the days before she went missing, Gunter posted on Facebook, “Success for me, happens in silence.” In June, she had also written about “focusing on a better me. Again,” with a heart-mending emoji.
Kayla said the move seemed to be going well and that her sister had not suggested she planned to leave or stop communicating. The two usually spoke by phone at least three times a day.
Gunter was reported missing to police later on the evening of Oct. 29, the Casper Police Department said. She is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing about 185 pounds, with black hair and blue eyes. She has a butterfly tattoo on her neck.
Anyone who has seen Gunter or the pickup, or has information about her whereabouts, is asked to call the Casper Police Department at 307-235-8278. Anonymous tips can be given to Crime Stoppers of Central Wyoming at 307-577-8477.
