Authorities in Montana say a 911 caller found his friend dead in a tent during what appeared to have been a fatal bear attack — but officials soon discovered the camper was actually the victim of a brutal murder.
Dustin Kjersem, 35, was found dead Saturday morning in his tent along Moose Creek Road north of Big Sky, Montana, Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer said at a news conference Wednesday. A friend who was supposed to have met Kjersem went looking for him when he didn’t show up as planned on Friday.
The friend eventually discovered Kjersem’s body in a tent at a makeshift campsite and called 911 to tell emergency responders that the death appeared to be caused by a bear attack, the sheriff’s office said.
However, a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Agency agent who visited the site found no signs of bear activity, and investigators said they soon found evidence of a “vicious attack,” which is being investigated as a homicide.
Kjersem, who was last seen on Thursday afternoon, suffered “multiple lacerations”, including to his skull, an autopsy showed.
“He was brutally murdered at his campsite and we need your help,” Springer said, adding that his detectives were “working all hours of the day and night to find his killer.”
No suspects have been identified and Springer said the remote area of the crime scene, where there is no cell phone service, made the investigation more difficult than in most cases.
“People have asked me if there is a threat to this community and the answer is, we don’t know. We don’t have enough information to know at this point,” he said.
The sheriff urged residents to be careful.
“We know there was someone who killed someone in a very gruesome way, so if you’re in the woods, you need to pay attention and stay vigilant,” Springer said.
Kjersem was driving a black 2013 Ford F-150 with a black topper and a silver aluminum ladder rack, and police have asked the public to come forward with any information they can.
“Think of the entire gap,” Captain Nathan Kamerman said at the press conference. “If you saw anything strange in the canyon, or in town with his truck, please contact us.”
Kjersem’s sister Jillian Price called her brother a skilled craftsman and a loving father.
“I have asked our community to find out who did this,” she said. “There is someone in our valley who is capable of truly heinous things.”
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