Fremont County Coroner reports rise in accidental deaths, juvenile cases in 2025

(Lander, WY) – Fremont County Coroner Erin Ivie presented her third-quarter report to the Fremont County Commission this week, outlining trends in local deaths and updates on new grant opportunities for her office.

Fremont County has recorded 230 deaths so far in 2025, Ivie said, with the coroner’s office investigating 117 of those cases – roughly 51 percent of the total.

The overall caseload has dropped slightly, Ivie noted, with five fewer cases so far in 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, but the percentage of non-natural deaths has increased to 43 percent – nearly 10 percent higher than last year.

Accidental deaths 

So far in 2025, the county has seen 37 accidental deaths, Ivie said – an increase of 11 compared to the same timeframe in 2024.

Those 37 accidental deaths include:

• eight related to motor vehicle incidents
• eight related to falls (six from a standing height)
• eight directly related to drug or alcohol toxicity
• seven asphyxial deaths
• two substance-related deaths
• two hypothermia deaths
• one blunt force trauma death (animal-inflicted)
• one gunshot trauma death

Nine motor vehicle fatalities have been reported so far this year, Ivie said, including the eight that were ruled accidental (one was undetermined).

Eight of the nine motor vehicle fatalities involved single-vehicle crashes, she noted, and two involved drugs or alcohol.

Drugs, alcohol

Five suicides have been recorded in Fremont County so far this year, Ivie said – four fewer than the same time last year – and there have been six homicides (one fewer than 2024) and two undetermined deaths (one more than the first three quarters of 2024).

Drugs and alcohol were involved in all of the homicide cases, three of the five suicides, 21 of the 37 accidental deaths, and one of the two undetermined cases, she noted. 

Drugs and alcohol were also involved in 39 percent of coroner cases and 59 percent of non-natural deaths so far in 2025, Ivie said.

Alcohol has been the most common drug involved in local deaths this year at 26, she said, followed by methamphetamine at 11, fentanyl at four, non-fentanyl opiates at three, kratom or mitragynine at two, and aspirin and wellbutrin at one each.

“Some of the cases involve more than one substance,” Ivie pointed out.

Locations and autopsies

So far this year, Ivie said the coroner’s office has been called most frequently to Riverton (40 times) and Lander (33 times), with additional cases in Dubois (eight), Fort Washakie (eight), Shoshoni (six), Ethete (five), Pavilion (five), Arapahoe, (three), Jeffrey City (two), Crowheart (one), Hudson (one), and South Pass City (one).

Four of the deaths occurred at the Wyoming Medical Center but originated in Fremont County, Ivie said.

Thirty of this year’s Fremont County cases have required autopsies, Ivie reported, and 40 additional autopsies have been performed for other counties under contract – almost double last year’s total of 25. 

The out-of-county autopsies have generated approximately $77,000 in revenue, she said.

Child deaths

Ivie added that 2025 has been a particularly difficult year for her staff, with 10 deaths involving individuals under age 18, compared to the usual average of three to five annually. 

Only two of the juvenile deaths were traffic-related, Ivie said, while others included cases of infant positional or overlay asphyxia, sometimes linked to unsafe sleeping environments or drug or alcohol use.

“Our hearts are broken in that regard,” Ivie said. “It’s been a rough year for our office.”

Grant funding, legislation

Ivie also reported progress on two grant initiatives this week.

The first, a Wyoming Department of Health partnership, would cover the cost of toxicology testing for suspected overdose deaths through funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The grant could save the county about $20,000 annually in lab costs, Ivie said.

The second initiative involves a potential collaboration with the Research Triangle Institute (RTI International) through a Bureau of Justice Assistance program to aid in identifying missing or unidentified human remains. 

If approved, the program would cover forensic processing, Ivie said, including DNA analysis, data entry, exhumation costs, and more.

Ivie also discussed efforts to have Wyoming coroners recognized as peace officers or first responders under state law – a change that would make them eligible for more state and federal grants. 

The proposed legislation, which has backing from statewide law enforcement and county officials’ associations, would “recognize coroners as peace officers the same as dispatch or corrections officers,” Ivie said, with “no arresting powers” and “no additional carry powers.”

“We’re hoping to be able to get that passed,” she said.