Gallatin County Sheriff's Office investigating 'brutal' murder of former Three Forks resident

The Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the brutal murder of former Three Forks resident, 35-year-old Dustin Mitchell Kjersem.

The body of Kjersem, of Belgrade, was discovered in his tent on Saturday, October 12, shortly after 10 a.m., approximately 2.5 miles up Moose Creek Road near Big Sky.

At a press conference last week, Sheriff Dan Springer said Kjersem was found by a friend he was supposed to meet on October 11.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, the caller who found Kjersem indicated a bear attack may have caused the death, but a Montana FWP agent with expertise in bear attacks did not find any sign of bear activity at the scene.

Gallatin County Sheriff’s Investigative Captain Nate Kamerman said an autopsy has shown Kjersem received multiple “chop wounds” that led to his death.

“This is a homicide, and we are working all hours of the day and night to find his killer,” said Springer. “He was brutally killed at his campsite, and we need your help.”

Kjersem was last seen on Thursday, October 10, and was driving a black 2013 Ford F-150 with a black topper and silver aluminum ladder rack.

The Sheriff’s Office is asking the public for their assistance.

“If you were in the Moose Creek area, or anywhere in Gallatin Canyon, between Thursday (October 10) afternoon and early Saturday (October 12) 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. Even the smallest detail could be crucial to the investigation,” states a release from the GCSO.

At the October 16 press conference, Kjersem’s sister, Jillian Price, described her brother as loving, caring, and hardworking.

“Dustin was a great kid. He worked all over the Valley. He could have framed your house, he could have poured your foundation, he could have installed your countertops. He was a hardworking and skilled tradesman. He was a loving, helpful, and adoring father who in no way deserved this. I ask our community to please help us find out who did this. There is someone is our Valley that is capable of truly heinous things,” Price said.

Springer said they do not yet have an exact idea of the weapon used in the murder, but they do know it was something hard enough to cause significant damage to the skull and flesh areas of the body.

“People have asked me if there is a threat to this community, and the answer is I don’t know. We don’t have enough information to know at this time. We do know there is someone out there that killed someone in a very heinous way. If you’re out there in the woods, I need you to be paying attention. You need to remain vigilant. If you see anything suspicious, call us. No information is too small, Springer said.

To share information with the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office during business hours, please call 406-582-2121 and leave a message. After hours, and those with urgent tips should call 406-582-2100 and select option 1 to reach a dispatcher.