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Dustin Kjersem wasn’t mauled by a bear. Police know that much for sure. Whoever did it made it look like that’s what happened but it didn’t. They have no suspects, at this time, which makes other campers nervous. Authorities aren’t sure if there’s still a threat to the community or not.
Not a bear attack
At first, from the nature and extent of his injuries, everyone thought it was a bear attack. On October 12, the body of Dustin Kjersem was found at “a remote Montana campsite.”
That’s what the 35-year-old victim’s friend said when they dialed 911 to report the discovery. There’s a real good chance the police have a few clues and hunches from the circumstances which they aren’t telling the public.
Before he ended up looking like he’d been mauled, Kjersem “set out for a weekend of camping at a remote Montana forest site.” The hiker was last heard from on the afternoon of October 10. He was scheduled to “meet a friend” the next day, Friday.
“When he didn’t show up, his friend started searching for him.” The unidentified associate claims they “found his body inside a tent at a forest service campsite near Big Sky, in southern Montana, around 10 a.m. Saturday local time.” He told the 911 operator he thought “Kjersem had been killed by a bear.”
That’s not an unreasonable assumption. There are warning signs all over the place. Yogi Bear loves to raid those picnic baskets. Attacks in the area “are not uncommon.” This July, “a 72-year-old man shot and killed a grizzly.”
He was armed heavily enough to handle the attack, out “picking huckleberries in a Montana forest.” Appearances can be deceiving, as all cops know. “Local law enforcement officials inspected the campsite.”
Autopsy confirms homicide
When deputies and rangers investigated the scene, they brought along “an agent from the Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks service who is an expert in bear attacks.” Nope, not this time, he quickly concluded.
He couldn’t find a single trace of recent ursine activity, “leading police to treat the case as a homicide.” The coroner quickly confirmed it was an incredibly violent crime.
According to the medical examiner, “Kjersem suffered multiple chop wounds that led to his death.” That suggests an ax or, more likely, a hatchet. Either way, despite their love of Second Amendment rights in Montana, the bear wasn’t armed. That puts the sheriff in a tricky position.
The “friend” who conveniently discovered the body about 2.5 miles up Moose Creek Road may know more than they’re admitting. Then again, they could be telling the truth. If a crazed killer is running around the woods, the public needs to be protected from the threat. If it was a personal beef, there’s no threat to anyone else.
“People have asked me if there’s a threat to the community and the answer is: We don’t know. We don’t have enough information to know at this time,” an exasperated Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer relates. “But 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 remain vigilant.”
Police make note that the campsite “was well kept, with lots of equipment that Kjersem had set up to enjoy the weekend with his friend.” Only the friend said that they were to meet elsewhere. The only reassurance Sheriff Springer can offer is you don’t need to beware a bear attack there.
