Missing Mom Found Dead in Crashed Vehicle 3 Days After She Failed to Pick Up Kids

A desperate search for a missing Wyoming mother ended in heartbreak after the 30-year-old was discovered dead inside her crashed pickup truck, three days after she mysteriously disappeared and failed to pick up her two young children from an after-school program.

Kandice Gunter, who had recently moved to Casper to be closer to her children, ages 9 and 6, was found Sunday, November 1, after her vehicle apparently veered off a winding mountain road and crashed through a guardrail.

According to the Casper Police Department, emergency crews were dispatched to Casper Mountain Road near Lookout Point around 9:20 a.m. following reports of a vehicle that had left the roadway.

First responders discovered the wrecked truck down a steep hillside with one person inside. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene and later identified by the Natrona County Coroner’s Office as Gunter, whose disappearance had sparked a frantic search across central Wyoming.

Police said there was no evidence of foul play or another person’s involvement, although investigators are still working to determine exactly what happened.

The tragic discovery came after Gunter’s family raised the alarm when she failed to collect her children from the Boys & Girls Club, something her sister insisted she would never normally do.

Kayla Gunter, who lives in Nevada, said she and her sister were extremely close and typically spoke on the phone several times a day. Their last conversation took place at 10:41 a.m. Wednesday, October 28, and nothing about it suggested anything was wrong.

But when Kandice suddenly stopped answering calls and failed to pick up her children, Kayla immediately feared something terrible had happened.

“That’s why I started freaking out,” she told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s totally out of character for her not to show up to get her kids.”

Kandice had moved from Nevada to Casper just a month earlier, hoping for a fresh start and an opportunity to spend more time with her children. Although she and the children’s father were no longer together, they were staying in the same household and helping care for the kids.

Her sister said the arrangement appeared to be going well, and Kandice had given no indication that she intended to leave or cut off contact with her family.

Police reported that Kandice was last seen in person on Thursday morning, October 29, in Natrona County and was officially reported missing later that evening.

Investigators began searching for her gray 2016 GMC Canyon pickup, which had temporary Wyoming registration. Her cellphone’s last known location was recorded along Highway 387 near the Natrona County line around 12:30 p.m. Friday, October 30.

Earlier, relatives had reportedly received information suggesting her phone might have been near Gillette, Wyoming, on Wednesday, adding to the uncertainty surrounding her disappearance.

As the search continued, family members and volunteers circulated photographs of Kandice and descriptions of her distinctive tattoos, including a butterfly on her neck, hoping someone might recognize her or her vehicle.

Then came Sunday’s devastating discovery.

After learning that her sister had been found dead, Kayla struggled to comprehend how a woman who had recently moved to Wyoming to build a better life with her children could be gone so suddenly.

“She was such a loving, kindhearted person who had such a good head on her shoulders,” Kayla told Cowboy State Daily.

“It’s not fair and we will get justice for her,” she added.

Authorities have not publicly determined when the crash occurred, what caused the pickup to leave the roadway or whether Gunter died immediately after the vehicle went down the hillside.

The Casper Police Department said investigators had found nothing indicating criminal involvement but emphasized that the circumstances surrounding the crash and Gunter’s death remain under investigation.

Police also expressed condolences to her family and everyone affected by the tragedy.

For Gunter’s loved ones, the discovery has brought an agonizing end to the search but left painful questions unanswered about her final days.

And for her two young children, the loss comes just weeks after their mother moved hundreds of miles in hopes of being closer to them.