Featured
Last year in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park, Heather Mycoskie came under fire after calling in a false sighting of missing person Cian McLaughlin. Mycoskie has now expressed her regret over the situation in an official statement.
In a recent interview, Mycoskie explained the rationale behind her decision which led to her being banned from the park for five years.
Mycoskie called in a sighting for the missing Cian McLaughlin, despite having not actually seen him, as she believed it would lead to an increased search presence for him.
Who is Heather Mycoskie?
Previously based in Jackson, Wyoming, Mycoskie now resides in Costa Rica.
Boasting some 10,000 Instagram followers, Mycoskie promotes a very active lifestyle to her fans and regularly updates them with microblogs about her life, as well as offering her takes on hot topics such as Cancel Culture.
Mycoskie is somewhat of a jack of all trades. As well as having a long-term modelling career, heather Mycoskie also has her own podcast: House of Maat.
Mycoskie recently turned 40 and took the chance to celebrate in Greece.
The Costa Rican resident was formerly married to Blake Mycoskie, who owned a vegan shoe company where Heather worked herself. It was there that she was profiled by Vogue.
Her recent interview with Fox News, as well as the statement she uploaded to her Instagram today on Wednesday, June 15, are the first examples of her speaking about the infamous missing person incident.
In the interview, Mycoskie admitted to her mistake: “I did, in fact, lie… but it was all based on information that I had received.”
Mycoskie set off the fake tip as, following a conversation with a local who knew McLaughlin personally, she believed that the authorities had reduced their efforts in finding him and she wished to reignite the search.
Mycoskie’s Instagram update
Following the Fox interview, Mycoskie took to Instagram in an attempt to further clear her name.
She began by assuring followers that all she wanted to do was “help” the situation, before issuing an apology to McLaughlin’s family.
She told the family of the missing man that she was “deeply sorry” and that she was “utterly embarrassed” and “ashamed” of her mistake.
Mycoskie also claimed that she and her family had suffered abuse as a result of the incident and pleaded with her followers to stop the “bullying”.
The extent of Mycoskie’s error
By phoning in the fake call, it is reported that as many as 532 hours were spent carrying out additional searches for McLaughlin.
As a result, The National Park Service confirmed on Thursday, June 9, that Mycoskie had been charged $17,600 in reparations and had been banned from the park for five years.
Mycoskie confirmed that she had paid the fine in full.
The National Park Service also confirmed that the search for McLaughlin is continuing this summer.
Read the full statement here for more details about the missing person.
