Man dies of apparent suicide

PINEDALE - The Sublette County Sheriff's Department says a man whose body was found Thursday near the Big Sandy River apparently committed suicide with a gun.

The department and volunteer searchers have been looking for nearly two weeks for 24-year-old Garrett Bardin, the son of Sublette County Sheriff Wayne Bardin. Garrett Bardin's truck was found in the area last week.

Dick Blust Jr., a spokesman for the department, said no positive identification of the body has been made yet.

Blust says that the search for Garrett Bardin has been scaled back considerably since the recovery of the body.

Blust said that other than Garrett Bardin, the department has not received any other missing person reports recently. Garrett Bardin's parents expressed their thanks for everyone involved in the search for their son.

Teen pleads in Internet photo case

CHEYENNE - A Cheyenne teenager accused of posting a nude photograph of a former girlfriend on the Internet pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of stalking on Thursday.

Franklin L. Hocker, 18, originally had been charged with a felony count of modifying computer data.

Prosecutors had charged Hocker with posting a nude photograph of an ex-girlfriend on her MySpace page. Court records say the photo had been taken with the girl's consent when she was 16.

District Judge Michael Davis sentenced Hocker to a year of probation. The judge ordered Hocker to pay $150 to the victim compensation fund and more than $400 in public defender fees.

Laramie County District Attorney Scott Homar said he hopes the case sends the message to young people in the community that this type of computer activity is not a joke.

Canada smoke clouds Black Hills

GILLETTE - The National Weather Service says smoke from large wildfires in Saskatchewan, Canada, is making skies hazy in northeastern Wyoming and the Black Hills.

The Weather Service in Rapid City, S.D., said the smoke is entering the jet stream and winds are carrying it to the Black Hills. Saskatchewan is more than 600 miles northwest of South Dakota.

The haze is reminiscent of that caused by Yellowstone, Big Horn Mountain and Black Hills forest fires in past years. But no major fires are reported burning in any of the Wyoming mountain ranges.

Wyo airline plans Montana service

HELENA, Mont. - A Wyoming-based airline plans to renew essential air service to Lewistown, Miles City and Sidney, Mont., in early September.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has given Great Lakes Aviation permission to change the hub from Billings to Denver for those flights.

Great Lakes, of Cheyenne, is taking over the EAS contract held by Big Sky Airlines before it ended operations on March 8.

The Department of Transportation said it expects service to resume in Havre, Glasgow, Wolf Point and Glendive, Mont., soon. DOT says the hub for those flights must remain in Billings.

The federal contract for service to all seven cities is $8.2 million per year.