Month: January 2026

Maile Sipraseuth

UPDATED: 5:10 PM, Jan 21

WAYAN, Idaho (KIFI) — A domestic dispute ended in tragedy Wednesday morning near the Idaho-Wyoming border, leaving a husband and wife dead following a tense standoff with law enforcement. According to the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, 43-year-old Christopher Moon shot and killed his wife, 23-year-old Cassandra Moon, before turning the gun on himself.

Cassandra Moon Remembered

Courtesy: Addie Garn via GoFundMe

In the wake of the tragic apparent murder-suicide, the neighboring community of Afton, Wyoming, has rallied to support the surviving members of Cassandra’s family.

A GoFundMe campaign, organized by family friend Addie Garn, describes Cassandra—known affectionately as “Cassie” to those close to her—as a devoted mother whose life centered around her three young children: two boys and an infant daughter, Claire.

While the initial chatter and rumormill within the community suggested the infant may have also been a victim of the incident, official releases from law enforcement state that only the husband and wife were killed. The Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that Christopher and Cassandra Moon were the only ones present at the scene.

Garn says Cassie’s death has left “a profound void in the lives of everyone who knew and loved her.” The funds raised will go toward funeral and memorial expenses for Cassie, as well as immediate and ongoing support for her children.

“No amount can ease the pain of this tragedy,” Garn shared on the fundraising page, “but your generosity can help relieve some of the financial burden and provide support to the children Cassie loved so deeply.”

The response has been immediate. As of 4 PM on January 21, the campaign has already raised over $8,000. For more information, click HERE.

Incident Background

The incident began just after 8:00 a.m. when Christopher Moon called 911, reportedly confessing to dispatchers that he had shot his wife and intended to take his own life. Multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Bonneville County SWAT team, raced to the scene on Jackknife Road.

Upon arrival, BCSO deputies found Moon inside one of two vehicles parked on the side of the road. According to Sgt. Bryan Lovell, negotiators were able to briefly talk with Moon over the phone, in an attempt to de-escalate the situation. Despite their efforts to persuade him to surrender peacefully, deputies witnessed Moon turn the firearm on himself moments later.

As they approached the vehicles, the deputies reportedly discovered the body of Cassandra Moon. Both individuals were pronounced dead at the scene from apparent gunshot wounds.

Sgt. Lovell confirmed that no other parties were involved or injured. The BCSO continues to process evidence from the scene, and says no further details will be released at this time.

UPDATED: 12:00 PM, Jan 21, 2026

WAYAN, Idaho (KIFI) — Multiple people are dead following a domestic disturbance at a remote property along the Idaho-Wyoming border that drew a large-scale police response on Wednesday morning.

“Once we got to the scene, we found that it was relatively contained to an area just off the road around a couple of vehicles,” said BCSO Sgt. Bryan Lovell. “We did discover deceased persons. And so right now we’re, we’re working on gathering evidence and investigating that scene.”

The incident began shortly after 8:00 a.m. when the BCSO SWAT team was activated to respond to the report of a disturbance possibly involving weapons at a home on Jackknife Road near Etna, Wyoming.

While officials have confirmed bodies were discovered at the scene, the identities of the deceased and any potential suspects have not yet been released. Sgt. Lovell noted that the scene is now safe and there is no further danger to the community.

Jackknife Road has been closed from State Line Road at the Wyoming border to the west as detectives process the scene. Law enforcement officials have not provided a timeline for when the road will reopen.

This is a developing story. Local News 8 has a reporter on the scene and will provide more details throughout the day.

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Danielle Mullenix

UPDATE:

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — Hundreds of attendees gathered in the lounge of the Idaho Falls Holiday Inn and & Suites on Wednesday afternoon to hear the first official address of newly appointed Mayor Lisa Burtenshaw. Burtenshaw gave her first outline of what goals, obstacles, and accomplishments lay ahead of her appointment as mayor following the 12-year term of Rebecca Casper.

“No doubt about it, I am excited to do the work,” Mayor Burtenshaw told the assembled crowd.

Among her numerous goals for the incumbent term, Mayor Burtenshaw highlighted improved public safety, building a strong community for the next generation, and improved communication between the City and residents.

Local News 8 has included Mayor Burtenshaw’s full address below.

ORIGINAL:

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — Mayor Lisa Burtenshaw is set to deliver her first State of the City address later today, Wednesday, Jan. 21.

The event is being hosted by the Greater Idaho Falls Association of REALTORS® and will serve as a platform for the Mayor to discuss economic development, infrastructure, and community priorities for the coming year.

Mayor Burtenshaw will begin her remarks at 12 PM. Local News 8 will provide a live stream of Mayor Burtenshaw’s speech above.

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CNN Newsource

By Chris Boyette, CNN

(CNN) — “I’m not just that girl that was kidnapped. That happened to me, but I’m so much more,” Elizabeth Smart told CNN’s Anderson Cooper in 2013.

A new Netflix documentary premiering January 21 has renewed interest in one of the most closely followed kidnapping cases in American history. Smart was 14 when she was kidnapped from her Salt Lake City home in 2002 and rescued nine months later.

Now 38, she has spent more than two decades turning her trauma into action, becoming an outspoken activist for child safety and survivors of sexual abuse.

“Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart” revisits her heartbreaking experience through interviews with Smart, family members and others, featuring never-before-seen material, according to the filmmakers.

In the two decades since her rescue, Smart has built a life centered on family and advocacy. She married Matthew Gilmour, a native of Scotland, in Hawaii in 2012. The couple met while doing missionary work in France and have three children: Chloe, James and Olivia.

Through the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, which she founded in 2011, Smart advocates for victim support and abuse prevention. The organization offers empowerment programs like Smart Defense and Smart Talks to educate and support survivors of sexual assault and abduction. She has testified before Congress and played a key role in promoting legislation, including the AMBER Alert and Adam Walsh Act.

Smart launched the Smart Defense initiative after she said she was assaulted on a flight to Utah, expanding her mission to include practical self-defense education. She has authored two books: “My Story” in 2013 and “Where There’s Hope: Healing, Moving Forward and Never Giving Up” in 2018.

Not everyone in her family wanted to revisit the painful past for the documentary. “Some members of my family want to leave things in the past. And personally, that’s OK with me. I want to respect their wishes,” Smart told Netflix. But for her, sharing the story serves a purpose. “As time passed, I began speaking publicly about what happened, I just felt like it needs to serve a purpose. It needs to bring some good in the world,” she says in the documentary.

“I have good days, I have bad days, but I’ve developed a better relationship with myself,” she says in the documentary. “My inner voice has changed from ‘you should have done this,’ or ‘you could have done that,’ to ‘you’ll make it through this. You could finish this. You’re strong. Keep going. You can survive anything that comes your way.’”

The abduction that gripped the nation

On the night of June 5, 2002, Brian David Mitchell dragged 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart from her bedroom in her family’s Salt Lake City home. Her 9-year-old sister, Mary Katherine Smart, pretended to be asleep as Mitchell threatened her older sister with a knife.

Mitchell brought Elizabeth to a mountainside camp where his wife, Wanda Barzee, was waiting. The sexual abuse began that day and continued throughout her nine months in captivity, Smart said. “I realized that I had something that was worth surviving for,” Smart told documentary makers of her resolve to survive and return to her family.

Authorities launched a nationwide manhunt with thousands of volunteers joining the search. The breakthrough came when Mary Katherine suddenly remembered whose voice she had heard that night — a drifter known as “Immanuel” who had once worked at their home. Police released a sketch that appeared on “America’s Most Wanted.”

On March 12, 2003, Smart was found alive, walking down a street with Mitchell and Barzee in Sandy, Utah, just five miles from her home.

In the years since her rescue, the people at the center of the case have moved forward in different ways.

Mary Katherine Smart

Mary Katherine’s memory proved to be the key to solving the case, though it took months to surface. “I was 9 years old when Elizabeth was taken. I missed not having my sister. She was my best friend,” she says in the documentary.

Four months after the abduction, while flipping through the Guinness World Records, the name suddenly popped into her head. “I knew immediately that’s who was in my bedroom … That’s the man who kidnapped Elizabeth,” she recalls.

Now living a private life, Mary Katherine is a special education teacher who recently earned her master’s degree in applied behavior analysis. She’s working toward becoming a licensed Board Certified Behavior Analyst. In a rare 2023 news appearance, she said, “I love working with kids. I love behavior.”

She married John Paul O’Brien in Salt Lake City in 2020, according to a wedding registry website cited by TV Insider.

The abduction remains something she continues to process. “I’m still trying to find my own process of moving forward. Time is a big thing. As time moves on, things get better, and you learn how to cope,” she said while offering advice to families of the University of Idaho students killed in 2022.

Ed and Lois Smart

Throughout their daughter’s nine-month disappearance, Ed and Lois Smart were a constant force, making regular media appearances to keep the search in the headlines. “If you can hear me, Elizabeth is the sweetest girl. She’s an angel,” Ed Smart told reporters in June 2002. “Please let her go.”

After Elizabeth’s rescue, the couple co-authored “Bringing Elizabeth Home: A Legacy of Faith,” released in October 2003. Both became advocates for child safety and survivor support.

Ed served as executive director of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation and president of the Surviving Parents Coalition. He currently serves as a director at Youth Futures Utah, a nonprofit providing shelter and support for unhoused youth, and continues making media appearances to support families of abducted children.

Lois Smart worked alongside Ed to advocate for the passage of the National AMBER Alert system. She now works as a public speaker using her platform “to inspire and educate others,” according to her All American Speakers bio. She was among the few family members who declined to participate in the Netflix documentary.

In 2019, Ed Smart announced he is gay, saying it took most of his life to accept his sexual orientation. “I tried to suppress that; it’s not me, not who I am. I tried to put that out,” he told CNN. Ed and Lois divorced in 2019, according to records obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune.

The kidnappers

Elizabeth Smart’s testimony proved crucial to bringing her captors to justice. She testified vividly about her nine months in captivity during Mitchell’s trial in 2009 and 2010, describing the ordeal as “my nine months in hell.”

“I didn’t want to face him, but at the same time, if he was released, he would definitely go after another young girl,” Smart said. “So, when the verdict finally came in as guilty, I mean, it was, it was just like, it is about time. Thank goodness it’s done, and I can leave it in the past.”

Mitchell was found guilty in December 2010 of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor with intent to engage in sexual activity. On May 25, 2011, he was sentenced to life in prison, where he remains today.

Barzee pleaded guilty to kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor and agreed to cooperate against Mitchell. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2010 but was released on September 19, 2018, after her time in federal custody was counted toward her state sentence.

Smart expressed disappointment at Barzee’s release. “It is incomprehensible how someone who has not cooperated with her mental health evaluations or risk assessments and someone who did not show up to her own parole hearing can be released into our community,” she said in a statement.

Barzee was arrested in Salt Lake City last May after visiting two public parks, which she is barred from as a registered sex offender.

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News Release

The following is a news release from the Museum of Idaho:

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — Starting January 31, the Museum of Idaho invites visitors to step far deeper into prehistory with the opening of Life Before Dinosaurs: Meet the Permian Monsters, a fascinating traveling exhibition that explores a largely forgotten chapter of life on Earth.

Long before dinosaurs appeared, the Permian world was ruled by a strange and formidable cast of creatures. Saber-toothed, mammal-like predators stalked the land. Sharks with spiral teeth cruised ancient seas. Giant insects dominated the skies. This exhibition journeys back 290 million years to meet these early “monsters” and uncover how they lived, hunted, and ultimately vanished.

Exhibit images courtesy of Gondwana Studios

The Permian world came to an abrupt and devastating end in what scientists call the Permian-Triassic mass extinction, often referred to as “The Great Dying.” Roughly 90 percent of all species on Earth were wiped out in a geologic instant, likely triggered by extreme global warming caused by massive volcanic eruptions. This catastrophic event cleared the way for the rise of dinosaurs and reshaped the future of life on the planet.

Life Before Dinosaurs: Meet the Permian Monsters brings this dramatic story to life through a powerful blend of science and art. Visitors will encounter fossil casts, full-size reconstructed models, and immersive environments that recreate Permian seas and landscapes. The exhibition also features striking new paleo-art by award-winning artist Julius Csotonyi, offering a vivid window into a world rarely seen.

Hands-on elements make the experience fun and engaging for all ages, including interactive dig pits and interpretive displays that explain not just what these creatures were, but why their disappearance changed the trajectory of life on Earth forever.

The exhibition is produced by Gondwana Studios and includes a variety of resin cast fossil skeletons, scientifically accurate life-size 3-D models, animatronic creatures, large-scale murals, and more.

Museum members will receive the first look during a special Member Preview on Thursday, January 29, from 2 to 6 p.m. Memberships can be joined or renewed now to enjoy unlimited access and exclusive benefits at museumofidaho.org/membership.

Life Before Dinosaurs: Meet the Permian Monsters opens January 31 at the Museum of Idaho. For hours, ticket information, and membership details, visit museumofidaho.org.

Exhibit dates: January 31 – September 6

To schedule a school field trip, click HERE.

For more information, visit museumofidaho.org/beforedinos

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