Boyfriend arrested after Kenyan woman mysteriously disappears in the US

A Kenyan family based in the United States is looking for their kin who has been missing since February 2022.

Ms Irene Gakwa, a nursing student based in the US since 2019, mysteriously disappeared after sending a strange text message to her family on March 3, that she would be moving to Texas because she did not like it in the State of Wyoming in Gillette where they lived.

Ms Gakwa's family then prompted police in Gillette to launch investigations after suspicions rose, saying that she had gone silent for a long while, something unusual of her.

“We have a reason to believe that something terrible might have happened since she is not known for being silent for such a long time,” Ms Gakwa's brother, Chris Gakwa, told the Nation.

“She used to call our parents almost on a daily basis and also kept in touch with us. My sister is not a silent person because we believe she might not be okay currently.”

After investigations, Gakwa's boyfriend Nathan Hightman, 38, was arrested while walking out from a Walmart store, where he spent Ksh60,000 to purchase a pair of boots and a pair of trousers, all paid using Ms Gakwa's card.

Investigations later revealed that Hightman had stolen over Ksh366,600 from Ms Gakwa.

The US national is alleged to have used Ms Gakwa's credit cards to make transactions after she disappeared, a total of 10 times according to the police. 

US-based media outlets reveal that Ms Gakwa met her boyfriend on a dating website but he instantly became very controlling.

Hightman is said to have forced her to move from Idaho to Wyoming.

Detectives have grilled Ms Gakwa’s friends and associates to aid in investigations and a couple of search warrants have already been executed.

Meanwhile, Hightman will remain under police custody as detectives try to unpack the dense puzzle. He will be charged with committing multiple felonies.