CASPER, Wyo. — The search for a Natrona County man who has been missing since September continues, alongside an unrelated search for a missing 16-year-old boy.
At a press conference November 15, 2019; officials with the Natrona County Sheriff’s Office spoke with members of the media, regarding the recent disappearance of 16-year-old Joey Peterson. During that briefing, NCSO personnel said that the search for Barnhill was also still active.
John Barnhill was reported missing on September 10, 2019. Since then, the NCSO has been assisting in the search for Barnhill, after his truck was found close to Sheepherder Hill, near Muddy Mountain.
NCSO Investigator Taylor Courtney said during the first weeks following Barnhill’s disappearance, the search for Barnhill was being concentrated in a six mile radius from where Barnhill’s truck was found.
The radius encompasses large swathes of Casper and Muddy Mountains, as well as foothills near Wyoming Boulevard and Highway 487.
Courtney said at the press conference Friday, that the search area for the Barnhill search does share an overlap with the area currently being searched for Joey Peterson.
“The geographical area does overlap to a certain degree,” Courtney said, Thursday. “That area was searched for Mr. Barnhill.”
Courtney went on to say that the search for Barnhill is not as large as the current efforts for Joey Peterson, who was reported missing on Sunday. Courtney says that, in the Barnhill case, many areas have already been searched, and available assets have seen the Barnhill search scaled down.
“This is a search, because we’re trying to find Joey alive,” added Courtney. “That’s what we have to do. Our efforts are on finding Joey at this time. Certainly, if [the search areas] overlap, then that’s a benefit to both searches.”
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of John Barnhill or Joey Peterson are asked to contact the Natrona County Sheriff’s Office at (307) 235-9282.
