Wyoming College Freshman Left A Dorm Party And Was Never Seen Alive Again

Sharon Bryant clearly remembered the day she moved her 18-year-old daughter, Berry, to her dorm room at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming.

Berry had been out late with friends the night before. Berry’s brother, Ryan, had just arrived home from a track meet. The siblings bickered back and forth about why Berry needed so much stuff as they packed two vehicles for the trip.

The two-car caravan had just gotten started when Berry pulled over. Sharon followed her daughter’s lead and slowed to a stop on the side of the highway. Berry lept from the car carrying a couple of cassette tapes so her mother and brother would have music on the trip to Powell.

The image of Berry running through the sunshine is one of the final happy memories Sharon has of her vibrant daughter.

A month later, Berry was dead.

The Life Of The Party

Berry was vivacious and charismatic. She was always smiling and genuine in her love for others, according to her mother and brother. It didn’t take long for her bubbly personality to make her well-known on her college campus.

Berry and her friend, Jessie, were invited to a dorm party on Oct. 3, 1996, with several other students. An acquaintance, Levi Collen, was at the party too. He had previously expressed romantic interest in Berry, but she had ducked his passes.

After a while, Berry excused herself from the party and said she was going down the hall for a moment but would be back. Levi spoke to Jessie about setting him up with Berry, but Jessie told him to forget it — Berry wasn’t interested.

Levi left the party, but Jessie stayed behind, expecting Berry to return. When she didn’t, Jessie went back to her own dorm room to prepare for the next day.

At midnight, Jessie’s phone rang. It was the RA from Berry’s dorm, and she wanted to know if Jessie had seen Berry.

Jessie looked around the campus for her best friend and then accompanied the RA to the parking lot to see if Berry’s car was there. They found the car, but there was no sign of Berry. Jessie checked the local hospital, but when Berry wasn’t there, Jessie knew something was horrifically wrong.

Across town, the county prosecutor was preparing to turn in for the night when the police called to let her know that they were speaking to a college student who was covered in blood and said he’d been in a fight with another male student and may have killed him.

What went wrong that night in Powell? Find out on ID's Evil Lives Here: Shadows of Death on discovery+.