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In 1969 James Barret was in the passenger seat of a plane headed to Riverton, Wyoming when the pilot suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and couldn't fly the plane. This is James' story about what he did to survive.

Links to other plane crash stories:
Crash of Flight 409 near Laramie, WY
Bomber Mountain

Check out The Wyoming State Archives Oral History Collection here.

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At 7:28 AM United Airlines Flight 409 crashed in the rugged Snowy Range of southern Wyoming on October 6th 1955. It was the worst civilian air disaster to that date in America killing all 66 people on board. Volunteer mountain climbers were called in from The University of Wyoming in Laramie to help recover the remains. Why exactly the plane crashed still remains debated and we explore some of the stories of the recovery teams and victims on this episode.

Please check out our other plane crash episode called Bomber Mountain.

Visit The American Heritage Center's Digital Collection about the crash.

Read Mel Duncan's digitized report.

See video of the crash site in 1955 here.

-List of the Victims the Crash of Flight 409-
Mrs Clifford B Ackerman
Thomas Ackerman
Robert Ainsley
Capt Charles R Anstadt
Mrs Dorthea Beck
Dwight H Benson
Herbert L Brawner
Mrs Grace Brown
Dale Brown
William H Burgin
Dr James A Bush
Airman 3/C Thomas Campbell
Mrs Helen Collins
Henry S Dean
Dr Lawrence J Devine
Endlehart
Mrs Inez C Evans
Keith F Finlay
Charles Gesas
Gerald Hadley
Mrs Edna F Hanks
Richard D Hawkins
Mrs Marian Kirk
J Lawrence Malnar
Myron Manwill
JE McGarr
Mrs JE McGarr
John B Merrill
Mrs John B Merrill
Lawrence Monk
Dale Elton Nelson
RB Nurre
Parker
AJ Plouff
Mrs C Poulakidas
Eugene Reynolds
Mrs Aceodene Schow
Mrs Betty Seare
Mrs Rhea Smuthwaite
Dr W Alan Stewart
Edward P Taylor
Mrs Darrel Tucker
Deborah Tucker
Mrs Georgie West
Earl West Jr
Staff Sgt Lewis Wood
Deloy A Montano
John P Rice
Joseph D Winsett
Alfredo G Mitotes
Charles L Missner
Ronald E Albright
Roger E Bechtold
Raymond Englehart
Richard D Cook
Daniel R Alexander
Arnold H Boggs
William R Ettleman
Russell L Kugler
Richard Lawhead
Paul C Noetzelmann
Wilbert N Witley
Herbert Willaims

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In 2020 Libby Bushell was putting in a new sewer line on her property in Cheyenne, Wyoming when she got the shock of her life.

Please stay tuned if more info from The Laramie County Coroner becomes available.

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The story of a murder at Fremont Canyon Bridge in Wyoming and one man's journey to visit the scene of the crime and tell the story of what happened and how it impacted Casper and Wyoming.

NOTE: This story contains accounts of suicide and sexual assault.

Buy your copy of Ron Franscell's book about the murder: The Darkest Night.

Ron's website: www.ronfranscell.com

Important links:
Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988
National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673
Parents of Murdered Children: www.pomc.org

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In 2020 a light descended by Interstate 80 in southwest Wyoming. Olen House talks about what he saw and how people have related to the photos he took of it. 

To get your own copy of Olen's book email him at: [email protected]

To learn more about sundogs visit this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_dog

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What is it like living in a fire watch tower in the remote parts of the mountains? We talked with Samsara Duffey about her adventures living in watch towers for 26 seasons. 

Photo courtesy of Samsara Duffey.

Learn how to use the fire finder at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8A2KZ4WDsc

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What happens when your sixth grade teacher sees a UFO?

Thanks Ms E for being on the show.

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A flooded funeral home...
A frightening photo...
Welcome back to That Doesn't Happen Every Day!

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In 1939, Earl Durand went on a rampage across North Western Wyoming that came to a violent end when he  tried to rob the bank in Powell.

Thanks to Jerred Metz for appearing on the show. Please check out his book "The Last Eleven Days of Earl Durand."

Thanks to Mark Junge for letting me use his recording of Tipton Cox. That recording along with many other recordings pertinent to Wyoming history can be accessed free in The Wyoming State Archives Oral History Data Base. Please check them out.

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What does it actually feel like to be bitten by a rattlesnake? One man describes being bitten by a rattlesnake very far from a hospital in the remoter parts of Wyoming. 

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