Suspect arrested in killing of Montana camper who was initially reported to be victim of bear attack

A sole suspect has been taken into custody in the killing of a Montana camper who was initially reported to be the victim of a bear attack, authorities said Wednesday.

A sole suspect has been taken into custody in the killing of a Montana camper who was initially reported to be the victim of a bear attack, authorities said Wednesday. Dustin Kjersem’s bloodied body had been found October 12 in a tent about two-and-a-half miles up Moose Creek Road, east of Big Sky, after a friend who went looking for him called 911, telling the dispatcher that Kjersem appeared to have been attacked by a bear, CNN previously reported. After the 911 call, investigators from several agencies, including a bear expert from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks, examined the site but did not find any signs of bear activity. An autopsy determined the 35-year-old had suffered “multiple chop wounds,” according to the sheriff’s office. Investigators initially said they did not know what weapon was used, “but we do know it was something hard enough to cause significant damage to the skull as well as some flesh areas of the body.” The sheriff’s office later noted that several items, including a camp axe, a shotgun, a revolver, and a cooler had gone missing from the scene of the crime. “He was brutally killed at his campsite,” Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer said.