RED LODGE — Family and friends of Bengie Tyson are keeping hope alive in their search for answers more than a decade after her disappearance. Tyson, last known to be in Red Lodge in 2009, vanished under mysterious circumstances, leaving her loved ones desperate for closure.
"It was shocking to hear," said Merideth Spriggs, an old friend of Tyson’s. “It's just, her parents deserve closure.”
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Tyson, who lived in Phoenix, Arizona, was 32 years old when she disappeared while traveling with her boyfriend and staying at a motel in Red Lodge. Despite her situation, she consistently made an effort to call her son. However, communication ceased abruptly in late November 2009.
Carbon County Sheriff Josh McQuillan noted that Thanksgiving was the last time family heard from Tyson. By January 2010, her father reported her missing to Billings police after weeks without contact. All family knew of her location was she was near Billings. Eventually, it was learned that Tyson was last known to be in Red Lodge and Carbon County Sheriff's Office took over the case.
"Just began that process of trying to track her down," McQuillan said. "Throughout that we have traveled out of state and interviewed folks."
As days turned into weeks and weeks into years, few leads emerged in the case. McQuillan explained that deputies investigated various tips.
"We have the pickup that she was last known to be traveling in, still in our evidence," he said. "We have went through cell phone data, social media."
One story told to detectives was that Tyson’s boyfriend dropped her off at a truck stop during an argument, but all leads ultimately led to dead ends.
“At this time, it’s still considered a missing persons case and no suspects,” McQuillan said.
After years of silence, without any activity on her phone or social media, Tyson's family took the painful step of filing to have her officially pronounced dead at the end of 2024.
“Everybody's frustrated with not being able to have an answer for what happened,” McQuillan said.
Despite the challenges, Tyson’s old classmates from Illinois are working tirelessly to keep her story alive. Fueled by social media, they aim to reignite interest in her case.
“How I found out about Bengie was through another classmate friend who had posted about the story,” Spriggs said. “You can't find anybody to say a bad word about Bengie. She was amazing.”
As time passes, family and friends remain committed to finding the truth about Bengie Tyson’s disappearance.
"Try to bring our girl home and bring some answers here,” Spriggs added. "I feel like it's the least I can do for Bengie because I never really got to properly thank her for her kindness."
Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to contact the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office at 406-446-1234.
Tyson has light brown hair and brown eyes. She has a two-inch scar on her forehead and multiple tattoos, including a yin-yang symbol and Chinese characters on her back and an elephant on her abdomen.
