Officials have banned a woman from Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park for five years after she was accused of lying about the disappearance of a hiker.
Heather Mycoskie (40), "knowingly provided false information, and a false report during the search for missing hiker Cian McCLaughlin," said the National Park Service in a Thursday statement.
According to a missing persons flyer, McLaughlin was last seen on June 8, 2021.
According to the statement by the park service, Mycoskie claimed that McLaughlin had been seen with her in the afternoon or early evening. He was walking towards a rock that he loved to jump into the water.
According to the statement, "Mycoskie gave a detailed description of McLaughlin" and said she had a conversation with him where they discussed where he lived, his origins, and his job. Mycoskie did not see McLaughlin on the 8th of June 2021 in Grand Teton National Park.
McLaughlin was also possible to be seen in another part of the park near Delta Lake. He had previously searched the internet for this area before his hike.
Witnesses claimed that Mycoskie made up her story in order to keep McLaughlin from finding out. It is not clear what the relationship between McLaughlin and Mycoskie was.
According to the statement from the park service, Mycoskie's false reporting resulted in 532 hours of wasted search time that was directed to the wrong location. The agency stated that Mycoskie's false report led to wasted time and cost the Federal Government $17,600.
According to park officials, Mycoskie was required to pay the amount to Treasury under a deferred prosecution arrangement.
