In search for missing Cody woman, authorities find blood in ex’s vehicle

POWELL — Authorities investigating the disappearance of a Cody woman found dried blood and an apparent bullet hole in the vehicle she was last seen traveling in, court records say.
The SUV is owned by Katie Ferguson’s ex-boyfriend, Adam Aviles Jr., who was arrested last week amid the investigation. Aviles is facing a federal charge that alleges he illegally possessed ammunition, but the 26-year-old has not been charged in connection with Ferguson’s disappearance.
Ferguson was last seen in early October, as she began heading back to Wyoming from Alabama with Aviles and their two children. Aviles and the kids made it back to Cody with his vehicle, but Ferguson did not.
Ferguson’s mother contacted Cody police on November 2 to report her as missing, and court records say it kicked off an extensive investigation by local, state and federal agencies.
Investigators later found Aviles’ SUV in a remote area south of Cody, with a “large quantity” of dried blood inside; the passenger seat,  which Ferguson reportedly rode in during the trip from Alabama,  had been removed, as had blood-stained trim, charging documents say.
The Park County Sheriff’s Office arrested Aviles on November 8 on misdemeanor charges that alleged he possessed a small amount of meth and stole his father’s vehicle.
However, the Park County Attorney’s Office dismissed the counts November 13 to allow federal prosecutors to take over the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming has charged Aviles with a felony count of possessing ammunition despite a prior felony conviction,  specifically, for possessing a felony amount of heroin in Cody in 2016.
The federal charge relates to a fully loaded magazine for a .45 caliber Glock that authorities found in Aviles’ SUV last week, with charging documents alleging some blood was found on the back of the piece of the equipment.
Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to detain Aviles while the case is pending, alleging in part that there’s a serious risk he’ll flee and that it qualifies as a “crime of violence.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paige Hammer also contends there are no conditions of release that would reasonably assure the safety of the community.
On November 14, Aviles was transferred from the Park County Detention Center in Cody to the Big Horn County Detention Center in Basin, which has a contract to hold inmates for the federal government.