Authorities in Montana say a death originally reported as a possible bear attack was in fact a "vicious" homicide, and they are now asking the public for leads on a possible suspect.
The Gallatin County Sheriff's Office said Dustin Mitchell Kjersem, 35, was found dead in his tent Moose Creek Road, near the intersection with Tamphery Creek Road, north of Big Sky, on the morning of Saturday, Oct. 12. He was last seen on Thursday, Oct. 10. His friend went looking for him when he didn't meet up as planned, and called 911 upon finding the scene.
The caller said Kjersem's death appeared to have been the result of a bear attack. But authorities said a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks agent who responded to the scene did not find any signs of bear activity around the makeshift campsite.
An autopsy revealed "multiple chop wounds" from a "vicious attack," and the case is being investigated as a homicide.
Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer said at news conference Wednesday that no suspects have been identified, but detectives are working "all hours of day and night to find his killer."
"He was brutally killed at his campsite and we need your help," Springer said. The sheriff's office released images of Kjersem and the truck he was driving, a black 2013 Ford F-150 with a black topper and a silver aluminum ladder rack, asking anyone who may have been in the area for information.
"If you were in the Moose Creek area, or anywhere in Gallatin Canyon, between Thursday afternoon and early Saturday morning and noticed anything unusual — whether you saw Dustin, Dustin's truck, noticed suspicious activity, have footage from game cameras or in-vehicle cameras from the area or observed something out of place — please come forward," the sheriff's office said. "Even the smallest detail could be crucial to the investigation."
Authorities are also urging anyone in the area to "remain vigilant."
"People have asked me if there's a threat to this community and the answer is we don't know. We don't have enough information to know at this time," Springer said. "We do know that someone was out there who killed someone in a very heinous way so if you're out in the woods you need to be paying attention, you need to remain vigilant."
--with reporting by TMX
