Murder Was So Vicious, a Bear Was Initially Blamed

UPDATE Oct 31, 2024 12:45 PM CDT

Authorities in Montana have a suspect in a campsite murder so vicious that a bear was initially blamed, reports ABC News. The Gallatin County Sheriff's Office did not identify the suspect, but said the person is in custody on unrelated charges and is cooperating in the murder investigation. In a statement, the sheriff's office said it believes the suspect acted alone, adding there is no threat to the public.

Oct 17, 2024 9:22 AM CDT

Last Friday, Dustin Kjersem failed to meet a friend with whom he was to spend the weekend camping in Montana. The friend ultimately found 35-year-old Kjersem dead inside a tent at a remote campsite south of Butte the following morning. In a 911 call, he said it looked like a vicious bear attack. Police disagree. "This is a homicide. And we are working all hours of the day and night to find his killer," Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer said Wednesday, per KBZK. Local law enforcement visited the campsite, about 2.5 miles up Moose Creek Road off Interstate 15, with a state expert on bear attacks, who saw no signs of recent bear activity, reports the Washington Post. An autopsy determined Kjersem, a father and skilled tradesperson, had died of "multiple chop wounds," including to his skull, reports CBS News.

It remains unclear when Kjersem died. He was last seen Oct. 10 as he left to go camping in his black 2013 Ford F-150 with a black cap. Authorities said the truck was at the well kept campsite, which lacks cell phone service. Investigators have little to go on, "but we do know that someone was out there who killed someone in a very heinous way," Springer said, per the Post. They're asking anyone who was in the area from Oct. 10 to 12 to report anything suspicious and turn over footage from dash or game cameras. "Please call and talk ... even if you think you didn't see anything," Kjersem's sister, Jillian Price, tells KBZK. Anything could be of use in the search for a suspect, she says. "There is someone in our valley that is capable of truly heinous things." (More murder stories.)