Montana

Montana man reported to be killed in bear attack died by homicide in ‘a vicious attack’

Published

1 year ago

October 17, 2024

Montana man reported to be killed in bear attack died by homicide in ‘a vicious attack’

A man was found dead in a tent in Montana in a case of apparent homicide and not a bear attack as initially reported.

Shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday, a caller reported “discovering a deceased male in a tent” approximately 2.5 miles up Moose Creek Road, north of Big Sky about 150 miles west of Billings, the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Tuesday.

“The caller indicated that the death may have been caused by a bear attack,” the news release said.

Multiple agencies, including the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and U.S. Forest Service responded to the incident. However, an FWP officer with expertise in bear attacks “did not find any signs of bear activity at the scene,” the news release said, prompting investigators to “treat the case as a homicide.”

The victim was identified as Dustin Mitchell Kjersem, 35, of Belgrade, Montana.

Further evidence, including an autopsy indicated the incident to be a homicide, authorities said. Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer, at a news conference Wednesday, said the autopsy showed the victim sustained “multiple chop wounds,” including to his skull. While authorities do not have an exact idea of the weapon used, Springer said it was “hard enough to cause significant damage to the “skull as well as some flesh areas.”

“This incident was a vicious attack, and detectives are working hard to develop and track down leads,” the news release said.

Victim last seen two days before

Kjersem was found dead by his friend in a tent at a makeshift campsite, after he went searching for Kjersem when he didn’t show up as per their plan on Friday, Springer said at the news conference. The friend was the one who called and alerted 911, telling responders the death appeared to have been caused by a bear attack, Springer said.

Kjersem was last seen in the afternoon on Oct. 10, authorities said, and was driving a black 2013 Ford F-150 with a black topper and a silver aluminum ladder rack. Detective Nate Kamerman said Kjersem was in contact with people Thursday afternoon as he drove up to the campsite, where service is limited, adding he was missing between Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning.

Kamerman said Kjersem’s tent was well-kept and had “lots of equipment” in it, indicating he had planned to spend the weekend with his friend there and had set it all up.

‘A skilled tradesman and a loving father’

Speaking at the press conference, Kjersem’s sister Jillian Price requested the community to step forward and help determine her brother’s killer. Price said Kjersem, who was born in Bozeman and worked all over the Gallatin Valley, was a skilled tradesman and a loving father.

“I asked our community to please find out who did this,” Price said. “There is someone in our valley who is capable of truly heinous things.”

Authorities seek public assistance

No suspects have been identified or arrested and Springer said the remote location of the crime scene made the investigation more challenging than most cases.

Authorities have requested anyone with information on the case or with game or trail cameras in the area to “please come forward” and contact the sheriff’s office at 406-582-2121 or via email at detectives@gallatin.mt.gov.

“Even the smallest detail could be crucial to the investigation,” the sheriff’s office said Wednesday. “Your assistance is invaluable, and all information is greatly appreciated.”

The sheriff’s office also warned residents and visitors to remain vigilant in they are out in the woods and alert authorities immediately if they observe any suspicious activity.

“People have asked me if there’s a threat to this community and the answer is we don’t know,” he said. “We don’t have enough information to know at this time, but we do know that someone was out there who killed someone in a very heinous way.”

“No information is too small,” Springer said. “If there’s something, please call us.”

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.

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Montana

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Published

3 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Everyone makes mistakes, even experienced professionals; a good reminder for the rest of us to learn from those mistakes. The motion in State v. Stroup starts off well in its initial pages (no case law hallucinations), but is then followed by several pages of two other motions, which I don’t think the lawyer was planning to file, and which appear to have been AI-generated: It begins with the “Below is concise motion language you can drop into …” language quoted above.

Griffen Smith (Missoulian) reported on the story, and included the prosecutor’s motion to strike that filing, on the grounds that it violates a local rule (3(G)) requiring disclosure of the use of generative AI:

The document does not include a generative artificial intelligence disclosure as required. However, page 7 begins as follows: “Below is concise motion language you can drop into a ‘Motion to Admit Mental-Disease Evidence and for Related Instructions’ keyed to 45-6-204, 45-6-201, and 4614-102. Adjust headings/captions to your local practice.” Page 10 states “Below is a full motion you can paste into your pleading, then adjust names, dates, and styles to fit local practice.” These pages also include several apparent hyperlinks to “ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws,” “ppl-ai-fileupload.s3.amazonaws+1,” and others. The document includes what appears to be an attempt at a second case caption on page 12. It is not plausible on its face that any source other than generative AI would have created such language for a filed version of a brief….

There’s more in that filing, but here’s one passage:

While generative AI can be a useful tool for some purposes and may have greater application in the future, when used improperly, and without meaningful review, it can ultimately damage both the perception and the reality of the profession. One assumes that Mr. Stroup has had, or will at some point have, an opportunity to review the filing made on his behalf. What impression could a review of pgs. 12-19 leave upon a defendant who struggles with paranoia and delusional thinking? While AI could theoretically one day become a replacement for portions of staff of experienced attorneys, it is readily apparent that this day has not yet arrived.

The Missoulan article includes this response:

In a Wednesday interview, Office of Public Defender Division Administrator Brian Smith told the Missoulian the AI-generated language was inadvertently included in an unrelated filing. And he criticized the county attorney’s office for filing a “four-page diatribe about the dangers of AI” instead of working with the defense to correct her mistake.
“That’s not helping the client or the case,” Smith said, “and all you are doing is trying to throw a professional colleague under the bus.”

As I mentioned, the lawyer involved seems quite experienced, and ran for the Montana Public Service Commission in 2020 (getting nearly 48% of the vote) and for the House of Representatives in Montana’s first district in 2022 (getting over 46% of the vote) and in 2024 (getting over 44%). “Его пример другим наука,” Pushkin wrote in Eugene Onegin—”May his example profit others,” in the Falen translation.

Thanks to Matthew Monforton for the pointer.

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Montana

Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

Published

15 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

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Montana

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

HELENA — You probably have goals and plans for 2026—the Montana Department of Agriculture does too.

“We’re really focusing on innovative agricultural practices,” Montana Department of Agriculture director Jillien Streit said.

It’s no secret that agriculture—farming and ranching—is not easy. There are long days, planning, monitoring crops and livestock, and other challenges beyond farmers’ and ranchers’ control.

(WATCH: Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026)

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

“We have very low commodity prices across the board,” Streit said. “We still have very high input prices across the board, and we have really high prices when it comes to our equipment, and so, it’s a really tough year.”

But innovation, including new practices, partnerships and technology use, can help navigate some of those challenges.

“We can’t make more time and we can’t make more land, so we need to start putting together innovative practices that help us maximize what our time and land can do,” Streit said.

Practices range from using technology like autonomous tractors and virtual fencing—allowing rangers to contain and move cattle right from their phones—to regenerative farming and ranching.

“It is bringing cattle back into farming operations to be able to work with cover cropping practices to invigorate the soil for new soil health benefits,” Streit said.

The Montana Department of Agriculture is working to help producers learn, share, and collaborate on new ideas to work in their operations.

The department will share stories of practices that work from farms and ranches across the state. Also, within the next year or so, Streit said the department is hoping to roll out technology to help producers collaborate.

“(It’s) providing a communication platform where people can get together and really help each other out by utilizing each other’s assets,” she said.

While not easy, agriculture is still one of Montana’s largest industries, and Streit said innovating and sharing ideas across the state can keep it going long into the future.

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