South Dakota
Obituary for Craig Reed Lloyd at Miller Funeral Home & On-Site Crematory
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South Dakota
South Dakota man among those elected to office for National Association of Conservation Districts
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South Dakota
Human Remains Found on South Dakota Reservation Identified as Sioux Woman Who Disappeared Over 1 Year Ago
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(740x369:742x371)/Michelle-Elbow-Shield-found-021825-01-e990fea8be554c208e751eb298b19f9c.jpg)
Authorities have identified a body found on a South Dakota reservation in January as a Sioux woman who disappeared more than a year ago.
The remains of Michelle Elbow Shield were found in the town of Interior on the Pine Ridge Reservation in January, forensics lab Othram said in a statement.
The Native American woman was last seen in Rapid City in October 2023 and reported missing a short time later, they added.
The cause and manner of Elbow Shield’s death are under investigation “as well as the circumstances around her disappearance.”
Rapid City Police Chief Don Hedrick said that authorities invested “thousands of hours” in the investigation into Elbow Shield’s disappearance, according to CBS affiliate KELO-TV.
“We hope this recent news can offer some sense of closure for her loved ones,” he added.
Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety
Nellie Bald Eagle, Elbow Shield’s grandmother, previously told KELO-TV that it was not in her granddaughter’s character to go somewhere without letting someone know.
“If she left someplace you know, she let somebody know. Or if she’s farther away from town, she’ll let somebody know,” she explained. “And there was this friend of hers that told me she contacted him every day.”
Initially, authorities were unable to identify Elbow Shield “due to the condition of the woman’s remains,” according to Othram.
Hedrick said a break in the case came “thanks to information shared by the public,” KELO-TV reported.
Othram said they worked with the Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit and the Rapid City Police Department to identify the remains through “advanced DNA testing.”
A comprehensive DNA profile was developed for Elbow Shield using “Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing,” and a potential relative was eventually identified, the company said.
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The individual provided a sample, and Elbow Shield was identified a short time later, they added.
Othram said it’s “the first publicly announced case in South Dakota where investigators used technology developed by Othram to identify an individual.”
“Something like this is heartbreaking for a family to go through,” Kristen Mittelman, chief development officer at Othram, said in a statement, KELO-TV reported. “But being able to deliver answers is important so that law enforcement can get to the truth.”
Hedrick said the police department plans “to use all available combined resources in order to bring this case to a resolution.”
“We remain committed to fully investigating the circumstances surrounding her disappearance through collaboration with the involved public safety agencies in order to uphold justice in the case,” the sheriff explained.
Police and Othram did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
South Dakota
Mount Rushmore fireworks to return next year, mixing a spectacle with fire risks and other problems
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