Found Deceased WY - Aubree Corona, 28, did not return to campsite, Sublette County, 13 Jul 2019

[Jethro4WS]

Thank you so much for the timeline. I tried to map most of the locations to get an idea of her possible route: Google Maps
It seems like she not only got lost she went the complete opposite direction she needed to go to get to Pinedale. Google maps didn't want to follow the smaller mountain logging roads unless I select cycling or walking. If I select driving then the route it gives is impossible in the timeline given. It seems like she was driving down unmarked roads and logging trails. No wonder she got lost if there are no road signs and Google maps won't even show the road she is on. Since she asked for a map at the gas station is it safe to say she either did not have GPS or the routes she took were not in a GPS/Phone mapping system? I'm not familiar with this mountain area but I have had that happen driving in mountains before where no navigation system was any help at all. I've also had a GPS tell me to turn right off of a cliff (fortunately I did not make the turn). Someone later told me that where I was driving the GPS signal bounces off the mountain range just enough to mess up the location-- it thinks you are on a different/lower road and that there is a turn there. I could see something like that happening in this situation. Perhaps she was making her way back using the map route the clerk gave but also had GPS up at the same time? If her GPS gave a shortcut then she might have tried to take it and gotten lost again. Unfortunately there are so many places she could have made a wrong turn.

MOO

Indeed on the opposite direction. She had to have turned right onto county road 352 instead of left. I do wonder why she continued North after getting caught up in the Green River Lakes area instead of just heading back the way she had come to start over again.

This is a possible path including all the locations in the mountains that @montanagirl15 mentioned.
Google Maps

This is the alternate path using the only other road off the mountain (from Sheridan Creek) to the highway.
Google Maps

Both of these would be consistent (over 7 hours drive time) with being in Dubois around 3:00 PM if she left around 7 AM.

 

[Gardener1850]

Indeed on the opposite direction. She had to have turned right onto county road 352 instead of left. I do wonder why she continued North after getting caught up in the Green River Lakes area instead of just heading back the way she had come to start over again.

This is a possible path including all the locations in the mountains that @montanagirl15 mentioned.
Google Maps

This is the alternate path using the only other road off the mountain (from Sheridan Creek) to the highway.
Google Maps

Both of these would be consistent (over 7 hours drive time) with being in Dubois around 3:00 PM if she left around 7 AM.

I agree it's a bit surprising she did not simply turn around once she realized she was lost (but I think I see how it may have happened). If she had gone the correct direction from camp it would have taken only around 35 minutes to drive to Pinedale: Google Maps

After 45 minutes to an hour of driving she should have realized that she was not going the right way and turned around. Instead of turning back I think she asked the logger for help getting to a main road. Perhaps she thought if she just got to a main road she could find her way there after that. Union Pass Rd where the logger saw her and told her to follow him is about 41 minutes from the camp area: Google Maps

The problem seems to be that the logger truck lead her in the wrong direction. He was going towards Dubois instead of Pinedale. That put her even farther out of the way from her intended destination.

Driving mountain roads with a lot of switchbacks can be exhausting in my experience. At this point I think she most likely got lost because she was tired and in a hurry to get back.

MOO.

 

[TTF14]

We were told she stopped at the Pit Stop to gas up the truck and ask directions back to Union Pass. She also stopped at Taylor Creek Exxon for an energy drink, to ask directions and to get a map. We are not sure which one she stopped at first. We are GUESSING the Pit Stop first to gas up the truck as she told the logging truck driver she was almost out of gas. Then maybe had second thoughts about going up and over the mountain again and stopped at Taylor Creek to see if there was another way on paved roads to get back to Pinedale. But again we are only guessing. By the time LE asked Pit Stop for their video it had already re-recorded over itself and the surveillance cameras at Taylor Creek were not working so we were unable to get a time stamp from either place.

But you think these stops were after she followed (and then unfollowed) the logger?

 

[TTF14]

BF refuses to list it as stolen and OnStar has been disabled

Is there a reason he should report it as stolen?

 

[TristanP]

BF refuses to report it stole. Even though topic has been brought up several times. Not sure why.

Simplest explanation for this is that he doesn’t have proof of ownership...maybe doesn’t even have legal ownership at all, if you get what I’m saying...

 

[MesquiteO21]

IMO, It does feel like we are missing some major detail and I hope LE has some clue.
I have a question that may get me laughed off the thread. Is it possible Aubrey is a protected witness for the federal government? Did she have information that may be invaluable to LE?

the only issue i'd have with this is i don't think they'd involved someone else's vehicle while making her disappear...just way too messy and would complicate things. With witness protection they want to completely sever ties with the person's established life and leave no link at all. A boyfriend's truck in the mix just doesn't seem like it would work. JMO.

 

[montanagirl15]

Thank you so much for the timeline. I tried to map most of the locations to get an idea of her possible route: Google Maps
It seems like she not only got lost she went the complete opposite direction she needed to go to get to Pinedale. Google maps didn't want to follow the smaller mountain logging roads unless I select cycling or walking. If I select driving then the route it gives is impossible in the timeline given. It seems like she was driving down unmarked roads and logging trails. No wonder she got lost if there are no road signs and Google maps won't even show the road she is on. Since she asked for a map at the gas station is it safe to say she either did not have GPS or the routes she took were not in a GPS/Phone mapping system? I'm not familiar with this mountain area but I have had that happen driving in mountains before where no navigation system was any help at all. I've also had a GPS tell me to turn right off of a cliff (fortunately I did not make the turn). Someone later told me that where I was driving the GPS signal bounces off the mountain range just enough to mess up the location-- it thinks you are on a different/lower road and that there is a turn there. I could see something like that happening in this situation. Perhaps she was making her way back using the map route the clerk gave but also had GPS up at the same time? If her GPS gave a shortcut then she might have tried to take it and gotten lost again. Unfortunately there are so many places she could have made a wrong turn.

MOO

According to the clerk at Taylor Creek she seemed to want to stay on paved roads and refused a map with trails and took a WYDOT map showing paved and gravel roads. The entire area near Dubois is a cell phone dead area except for an occasion passing signal if your lucky. So I'm not sure if she would have been able to use GPS or Phone mapping.

 

[Jethro4WS]

I agree it's a bit surprising she did not simply turn around once she realized she was lost (but I think I see how it may have happened). If she had gone the correct direction from camp it would have taken only around 35 minutes to drive to Pinedale: Google Maps

After 45 minutes to an hour of driving she should have realized that she was not going the right way and turned around. Instead of turning back I think she asked the logger for help getting to a main road. Perhaps she thought if she just got to a main road she could find her way there after that. Union Pass Rd where the logger saw her and told her to follow him is about 41 minutes from the camp area: Google Maps

The problem seems to be that the logger truck lead her in the wrong direction. He was going towards Dubois instead of Pinedale. That put her even farther out of the way from her intended destination.

Driving mountain roads with a lot of switchbacks can be exhausting in my experience. At this point I think she most likely got lost because she was tired and in a hurry to get back.

MOO.

If she encountered the logger near Sheridan Creek - because that came after being sighted in the Sheridan Creek area - it means she was already on the road for over 5 1/2 hours (mostly due to driving to, and back-tracking from, the Green River Lakes area). The logger truck driver would have to be leading her to Union Pass Road at a point way up north and east from the camp ground. In the Dunoir area and way closer to Dubois than to the campground.

The entirety of the road highlighted is labeled Union Pass Road on Google Maps. Zoom in to any part of the road.
Google Maps

This is, of course, dependent on the sequence of sightings being correct.

 

[Jethro4WS]

Is there a reason he should report it as stolen?

Sure. It is entirely possible that law enforcement can't get any search warrants that may help them track down Aubree because an adult is free to go anywhere they want without telling anyone and to date there is no evidence of a crime being committed against her. However, if a crime (Unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, for example) is alleged to have been committed by her then law enforcement would be able to obtain any warrants they hadn't been able to obtain previously. Just because a crime is alleged doesn't mean that it has to be prosecuted but it will open the door to getting warrants if that had been a problem before.

 

[montanagirl15]

I agree it's a bit surprising she did not simply turn around once she realized she was lost (but I think I see how it may have happened). If she had gone the correct direction from camp it would have taken only around 35 minutes to drive to Pinedale: Google Maps

After 45 minutes to an hour of driving she should have realized that she was not going the right way and turned around. Instead of turning back I think she asked the logger for help getting to a main road. Perhaps she thought if she just got to a main road she could find her way there after that. Union Pass Rd where the logger saw her and told her to follow him is about 41 minutes from the camp area: Google Maps

The problem seems to be that the logger truck lead her in the wrong direction. He was going towards Dubois instead of Pinedale. That put her even farther out of the way from her intended destination.

Driving mountain roads with a lot of switchbacks can be exhausting in my experience. At this point I think she most likely got lost because she was tired and in a hurry to get back.

MOO.

From what we can gather Aubree probably drove around on the Pinedale side of the mountain, going up into the Green River Lakes area, for a bit, but by then was so turned around she had no idea which direction she was heading. Having only been up in that area a small amount I can tell you there are many, many random off-shoots to the roads that show up on Google or Forest Service maps! It would not take me long to get lost, especially without a map or GPS. LE and family have spoken with the logger and he felt it was safer, to have her follow him out of the mountain and down to Dubois and get help there, rather than trying to give her directions back to New Fork and have her get lost again. The road from New Fork to the Pass is very rocky and bumpy but coming down the Dubois side is much better. It would have been an easier and safer route than trying to go back the way she came.

 

[Wyohome]

I just started a profile on here because of this case, it has really bothered me. I drive between the Jackson and Lander areas often and usually alone.

The semi detailed timeline today filled in a lot that I didn't understand before. Knowing she was last seen in Dubois and possibly did not head back up into the mountains from there widens the possible search area in a mind boggling way.
If she took the recommendation of the gas station attendant and went through Lander, is it possible there is video evidence of her truck from there? I have seen her missing flyer on Facebook posts from that area.
If I had been in that situation and didn't want to go back up the way I had come down and instead start back up to camp from the Pinedale side, I would have headed over Togwotee Pass and through Grand Teton Park, through Jackson then down and through the Hoback canyon and up to Pinedale. It's all 55 mph+ and well travelled.
If she went through Lander, the next stop is Farson and back up to Pinedale. I would never imagine taking the Lander cutoff when you could stay on the highway until Pinedale (or Cora).
It is a huge, huge area.

 

[Gardener1850]

If she encountered the logger near Sheridan Creek - because that came after being sighted in the Sheridan Creek area - it means she was already on the road for over 5 1/2 hours (mostly due to driving to, and back-tracking from, the Green River Lakes area). The logger truck driver would have to be leading her to Union Pass Road at a point way up north and east from the camp ground. In the Dunoir area and way closer to Dubois than to the campground.

The entirety of the road highlighted is labeled Union Pass Road on Google Maps. Zoom in to any part of the road.
Google Maps

This is, of course, dependent on the sequence of sightings being correct.

Wow, you are right. Union Pass Rd is a long road. Driving for 5.5 hours and not turning back the way she came earlier doesn't make much sense at all. I can understand why she would ask for a map and directions on paved roads only after that. If her sense of direction is so bad that she continued driving for several hours after the point when she must have realized she was lost, then it makes me wonder if she went the wrong direction even with a map and directions.

Perhaps alternate search locations can be determined by going the opposite direction of what the clerk told her? Let's say the clerk told her to go south on 26/287, then turn right to stay on 287 towards Lander. Suppose she is not skilled at reading a map, has her north and south mixed up and goes North on 26 instead? If she is looking for a right turn to go towards Lander she may have turned right on 191 driving towards Yellowstone and away from her intended destination: Google Maps

She could have run out of gas or crashed in a very remote area completely out of the search area. I'm thinking the road from Jackson Lake up to Lewis Lake and Yellowstone National Park area should be searched as well as the lakes themselves. MOO.

 

[Timekeeper65]

@Wyohome THANK YOU for being here and sharing your perspective. It helps immensely.

WELCOME TO WEBSLEUTHS!

@montanagirl15 THANK YOU for being here and answering questions. Very helpful.
I am so very sorry that you are here because AC is missing. Waiting patiently for a good outcome here. Sending UP positive thoughts.

 

[montanagirl15]

With Google Maps, in that situation, right-click on a location on a road and then choose "Whats here". When that pops up click on the latitude/longitude and you get a pin on that location. Then you choose Directions. Instead of typing in a place name click on the road further along or along a road that connects to it. It will connect the two locations via roads. Reverse them, if necessary. Then repeat the process by adding a destination and clicking along the road or a connecting road.

It seems that whether she went clockwise via Lander, Farson and Boulder (US 26E/US 287N to WY 28 to US 191N) or counter-clockwise via Moran, Moose, and Jackson (US 26W/US 287N to US 191 South) it would be at least 3 hours of travel time to Pinedale. Most important either route consists of roads that are not at all like the roads over Union Pass as the average speed clockwise is 65 MPH and counter-clockwise it is 55 MPH.
Google Maps

I have yet to find the so-called Lander Cutoff. Everything I have found goes back to the old Oregon Trail.

Incidentally, driving over the mountains via Union Pass would take 3 1/2 hours to get to New Fork Lake, but you would be lucky to average 25 MPH.

You are correct that either direction was going to be a long drive. However, our understanding is that the clerk gave her directions to go through Lander, over South Pass, etc. because there is road construction heading towards Jackson and the clerk felt that the Lander route would probably be the fastest. The Lander Cutoff is southwest of Lander off Hwy 28 about 1 mile southwest of South Pass WYO 28 Rest Area. I've attached a small map showing where the turnoff is. The sign heading south on Hwy 28 says Big Sandy Rec Area. If you turn left and go through the opening in the fence there is a "street sign" that says Lander Cutoff. We have been searching that area for the past week and have found nothing. But with the sign not actually saying "Lander Cutoff" until after you turn I'm not sure Aubree would have gone that way.

 

[montanagirl15]

Sure. It is entirely possible that law enforcement can't get any search warrants that may help them track down Aubree because an adult is free to go anywhere they want without telling anyone and to date there is no evidence of a crime being committed against her. However, if a crime (Unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, for example) is alleged to have been committed by her then law enforcement would be able to obtain any warrants they hadn't been able to obtain previously. Just because a crime is alleged doesn't mean that it has to be prosecuted but it will open the door to getting warrants if that had been a problem before.

LE has told us that it is up to the BF to report it stolen (the BF does not want to report it stolen), and that a BOLO has been put out which would do the same thing. However, a BOLO is only helpful if the truck is stopped or involved in an accident. We believe that if the truck were to be reported stolen LE would be on the lookout for it, which would heighten their awareness of the missing truck, rather than just waiting for the truck to be pulled over in a traffic stop or found in an accident.

 

[wary]

But you think these stops were after she followed (and then unfollowed) the logger?

The logger said, I think, that she said that she was almost out of gas. So, I’d think that the stop where she bought gas would be after the logger. If that’s the correct sequence, then the logger may have lost track of her because she was driving more slowly?

 

[montanagirl15]

But you think these stops were after she followed (and then unfollowed) the logger?

Yes, we do believe that for whatever reason she stopped or slowed down and stopped following the truck. Maybe she could see the highway from where she stopped? We're not sure what happened. But, yes we do believe she stopped at the gas stations after the logger helped her down the mountain road.

 

[montanagirl15]

BF refuses to list it as stolen and OnStar has been disabled

Yes

 

[Jethro4WS]

You are correct that either direction was going to be a long drive. However, our understanding is that the clerk gave her directions to go through Lander, over South Pass, etc. because there is road construction heading towards Jackson and the clerk felt that the Lander route would probably be the fastest. The Lander Cutoff is southwest of Lander off Hwy 28 about 1 mile southwest of South Pass WYO 28 Rest Area. I've attached a small map showing where the turnoff is. The sign heading south on Hwy 28 says Big Sandy Rec Area. If you turn left and go through the opening in the fence there is a "street sign" that says Lander Cutoff. We have been searching that area for the past week and have found nothing. But with the sign not actually saying "Lander Cutoff" until after you turn I'm not sure Aubree would have gone that way.

View attachment 198191

I agree. If there wasn't a sign I don't know how she would know to turn there if she was unfamiliar with that area as well.

What kind of searching has been done along Union Pass RD itself by the family? Or has the focus been on the southern route the clerk had given?

 

[montanagirl15]

Someone said they hoped the family was searching, I said they were and now here's an article with quoted from her Mom, Karen Corona, saying that they searched.

Investigation continues for missing Wyoming woman

Yes, we searched every possible place we could thing of in and around Pinedale, Dubois, Lander, Riverton and areas in between with our family, LE and the kind local citizens in those areas, and nothing! We drove up and down the roads from Pinedale to Jackson (Hwy 191), Jackson to Dubois, (Hwy 26), Pinedale to Farson (Hwy 191), Farson to Lander, (including side roads through South Pass and Atlantic City) (Hwy 28), Lander to Riverton (Hwy 789), Lander to Hwy 26 via (Hwy 287) and from Hwy 287 to Hwy 26 via Road 132. Along each and every one of those stretches of road anytime we could not see the sides of the roads we stopped and walked the highway to look into any ditches or ravines. If the ravines were deep or there was a lot of foliage we walked down into the ravine to verify Aubree was not there. We were looking for any laid down grasses/weeds, broken tree branches, debris, etc. and of course, the truck and Aubree. And still nothing! We are still searching the Lander Cutoff but so far nothing.