BOZEMAN — A Belgrade man was found murdered while camping near Big Sky on Saturday and on Wednesday the man's sister asked the public for help finding his killer.
“This weekend we lost our brother, our son, our uncle, our best friend, and our dad in the most unimaginable way,” Jillian Price said at a press conference at the Gallatin County Law and Justice Center.
Price is the older sister of 35-year-old Dustin Kjersem, the Belgrade man found brutally murdered at his campsite Saturday morning. Price spoke with emotion when describing her brother.
“Dustin was a great kid. He was born here in Bozeman and he worked all over the valley. He could've framed your house. He could've poured your foundation. He could've installed your countertops. He was a hard-working, skilled tradesman,” Price said.
Price shared photos of Kjersem and said he was a great father who was loved by many friends.
The last time Kjersem was seen was Thursday afternoon when he was leaving to go camping in his truck, a black 2013 Ford F-250 with a black topper.
“He was well prepared for a weekend of camping and had plans to meet with a friend on Friday afternoon, but he never made that meeting,” said Capt. Nathan Kamerman of the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office.
That concerned friend went searching for Kjersem on Saturday morning and found him dead in his tent in a campsite to the east of Highway 191, up Moose Creek Road.
Kjersem's injuries were so intense his friend reported the incident as a bear attack, but authorities later ruled out the death was caused by an animal.
“This is a homicide. And we are working all hours of the day and night to find his killer,” said Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer.
Detectives say Kjersem suffered multiple “chop” wounds from a weapon that remains undetermined. Gallatin County detectives have followed a few different leads but there is currently no one in custody.
“We’re asking the community members to help us in this way: anyone who was present in the area between the evening hours of Thursday. October 10 and the early morning hours of Saturday, October 12, to reach out to us,” said Kamerman.
Detectives are asking anyone with trail cameras in the area, car cameras who traveled through the area, or anyone who saw Kjersem's truck around the time to reach out to law enforcement. No matter how small and irrelevant you may think the information is, detectives say anything helps.
“There is someone in our valley that is capable of truly heinous things. Please, if you were in Moose Creek at any time from Thursday to Saturday, please call and talk even if you think you didn't see anything,” said Price.
CBS News reports that Springer said the remote area of the crime scene, where there is no cellphone service, was making the investigation more difficult than most cases.
"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," he said.
The sheriff urged residents to be careful.
"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," Springer said.
"Think of the whole canyon," Kamerman said at the news conference. "If you saw something weird in the canyon area, or in town with his truck, please reach out to us."
RELATED: Homicide investigation launched after man found dead near Big Sky
Anyone seeking to share information during business hours is asked to call 406-582-2121 and leave a message. For after-hours or urgent tips, call 406-582-2100 and select option 1 to reach a dispatcher.
