People have left state but are being monitored; drug involvement suspected 

Police are probing a couple people of interest in the murder of a part-time Clark resident whose mutilated body was found in Badger Basin earlier this year.

Park County Sheriff Scott Steward said this week that investigators have identified a couple “strong persons of interest” in connection with the January murder of 30-year-old Juan Antonio Guerra-Torres.

“They’ve fled the state, but we’re still monitoring their activities,” Steward said.

The sheriff also said it now appears there’s a connection between the case and “some drug activity.”

“As far as how much, we don’t really know, but there appears to be some nexus there,” Steward said.

Guerra-Torres’ body was found by a Cody duck hunter and his son on Jan. 9 along a remote Badger Basin dirt road known as the Little Sand Coulee Road. The spot is about a mile and a half drive off of Wyo. Highway 294 and a little more than 10 miles from Powell as the crow flies.

Authorities concluded Guerra-Torres was shot to death a couple days earlier and then mutilated; his head and left arm were removed from his body, among other damage, and it took authorities until May to identify him as Guerra-Torres.

“I would say we’re progressing, but slowly — not as fast as I would like to see,” Steward said of the current state of the investigation.

Steward said he and other sheriff’s personnel met with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation last week to go back over the case, try to determine if anything has been overlooked and decide what needs to be done next.

The work to date has involved multiple agencies and included investigators going to both Washington state and California to interview family and friends of the victim and family of the persons of interest, Steward has said.

A local resident who knew Guerra-Torres told the Tribune earlier this year that the native of Guanajuato, Mexico, split time between Clark and California. Steward added in a Friday news release that Guerra-Torres had lived in Tulare County, California, located in the central part of the state south of Fresno.

A law enforcement poster recently posted at locations in Powell asks for anyone with information about the case — and specifically about two people — to contact the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office at 559-636-4625.

“(Guerra-Torres’) body was discovered in Park County, Wyoming, and he was the victim of a homicide. Guerra-Torres was reportedly with a female identified as Sandra Garcia,” says the poster, referring to a woman that Clark residents have said was Guerra-Torres’ significant other. “In addition, Tulane (sic) County Sheriff’s Office is seeking information about individuals who go by the nickname ‘Crocodile’ or ‘Don Cheto.’”

Steward said in a Friday news release that Guerra-Torres was reportedly with Garcia "in close proximity to the time of his death. And while we do not consider Garcia a suspect at this time, we are looking into her activities and movements in and around the time of Guerra-Torres’ death.” The sheriff said the individuals known as Crocodile and Don Cheto might have also been with Guerra-Torres near the time of his death.

In the release, Steward indicated there were other other persons of interest and that all of them have left the state and are being monitored.

Steward told the Tribune that the poster, written in both English and Spanish, was crafted by the Rocky Mountain Information Network — a regional information-sharing network for law enforcement. While Tulare County has been helping with the investigation and offering bilingual support, Steward said there was apparently a mix-up with the contact information listed on poster.

“We prefer they contact us, but certainly if they do contact those folks (in Tulare County), they’re in touch with us and will be in touch with us immediately,” Steward said.

People with information about the case are asked to contact the Park County Sheriff’s Office at 307-527-8700 or the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation at 307-777-7545.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include information from a news release from Steward issued after the publication of the Tribune's story.