Mills resident Ross Humbracht - who claimed to be lost in the prairie for a week but was actually burglarizing buildings near Powder River - received a suspended prison sentence of 24 to 30 months, three years supervised probation and was ordered to pay back the nearly $22,000 it cost the county to search for him, 7th District Attorney Mike Blonigen said Friday.

Humbracht, who appeared for sentencing on a burglary charge in 7th District Court on Friday morning, went missing for a week in July 2003 - prompting a massive manhunt with sheriff's deputies, airplanes, search dogs, and four-wheelers.

Humbracht claimed he got lost while rock hunting near Powder River. But investigators discovered he and a partner, Gary Neske, were actually hunting for antiques and oil field equipment by burglarizing buildings, Natrona County Circuit Court records state.

Humbracht, his wife Nicole, and Neske were all criminally charged after the plot was discovered.

Humbracht, a 33-year-old oil field worker, reportedly told Neske not to worry if they became separated, which they did. Neske found his way back to Mills, talked to Nicole Humbracht and they both went to the area to look for Ross, according to reports from the Sheriff's Office.

Their search unsuccessful, Neske and Nicole Humbracht reported Ross missing later that day.

For more than four days, the sheriff's office and the Civil Air Patrol spent hundreds of hours and $21,984 unsuccessfully searching at least 150 square miles on the prairie and in the air. They gave up on Thursday, July 24.

On Saturday, July 26, Humbracht emerged from the Powder River area. He was 25 pounds lighter and covered with bug bites, but alive after a week of wandering without food in the scorching heat.

Humbracht told authorities he slept during the day to avoid the heat, and used his survival skills including finding a stream and following it to a road.

He survived, he said, on cactus and flies, and drank from a stream.

Neske, Humbracht's partner in crime, pleaded guilty to a felony conspiracy to commit burglary charge and received a suspended prison sentence of 30 to 60 months, with credit for 233 days previously served. In addition, Neske was ordered to successfully complete 3 years of supervised probation and was held at the Natrona County jail pending his acceptance into New Horizons, a drug treatment center.

Nicole Humbracht, who was originally charged with being an accessory after the fact, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor interference charge and was given 6 months of unsupervised probation, court documents state.