A Boston-area woman who came to Wyoming to work on a ranch last May was kidnapped the day she got to the state. 

But despite that traumatic experience and thanks to some good riding buddies, a good horse and a good Wyoming man, she chose to build a life here anyway.  

Janelle Gibson was 24 when she drove from Massachusetts last May to work on a guest ranch outside Buffalo, Wyoming.

She brought her younger brother, Jake, along for the ride, but dropped him off at the Gillette airport in the early morning hours of May 19, 2023 — after 32 hours on the road. She grabbed a couple hours’ rest in her car, then pulled into Gillette’s Walmart parking lot and waited for the store to open.