A woman’s Alaska cruise vacation ended abruptly as she attempted to board a cruise ship. Karen Bryan, 64, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, was apprehended by police with an arrest warrant.
She was detained on suspicion of embezzling thousands of dollars from a church in her hometown.
She was formally arrested at the cruise terminal and is detained in Alaska awaiting extradition back to Laramie County, Wyoming.
The police have disclosed few details about the case. They haven’t named the church or the amount allegedly stolen, although local media suggest it was likely a significant sum of money. It is thought the arrest took place at Ketchikan, but it is unclear which cruise line Bryan was booked to sail with.
However, Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak released an online video announcing the arrest, entitled “God Works in Mysterious Ways.”
“Our deputies are responsible for picking up wanted fugitives throughout the United States. There was a person wanted here locally for allegedly embezzling thousands of dollars from a church. She was contacted by law enforcement in Alaska as she was boarding a cruise ship, and has been arrested for that warrant,” the Sheriff explained in the video.
Woman Awaiting Extradition Back to Wyoming
“Our deputies are currently fighting over who is going to get to go to Alaska to extradite her back here to Laramie County.” Sheriff Kozak said his deputies and Alaska law enforcement worked together to make the arrest.
Cruises are a fairly popular way for authorities to check IDs against outstanding warrants on suspects police have difficulty locating.
In late 2024 a Kentucky man was picked up after getting off a cruise ship at PortMiami due to $100,000 in unpaid child support. He had absconded several years earlier.
In early 2024, a Jacksonville woman boarding a cruise ship was arrested on a warrant relating to a hit-and-run incident two years earlier.
