Sister of a man murdered near Big Sky is asking the community for help finding his killer

BOZEMAN — A Belgrade man was found brutally killed while camping near Big Sky over the weekend. A news conference was held Wednesday afternoon at the Gallatin County Law and Justice Center where the man’s sister spoke about him and asked the public for help.

“This weekend we lost our brother. Our son. Our uncle. Our best friend. And our father – in the most unimaginable way,” says Jillian Price.

Jillian is the older sister of 35-year-old Dustin Kjersem, the Belgrade man who was found brutally murdered at his campsite on Saturday morning. Jillian held back tears and described her brother.

“Dustin was a great kid. He was born here in Bozeman. And he worked all over the valley. He could have slandered your house. He could have poured your foundation. He could have installed your countertops. He was a hard-working, skilled craftsman,” says Jillian.

Earlier on Wednesday, Jillian shared photos of Dustin with me. She told me Dustin was a great father. He was also loved by many friends in the valley.

The last time Dustin was seen was Thursday afternoon when he went camping in his truck, a black 2013 Ford F-250 with a black roof.

Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office

“He was well prepared for a camping weekend and planned to meet a friend on Friday afternoon. But he never came to that meeting,” said Nathan Kamerman, chief investigator for the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office.

This concerned friend went looking for Dustin on Saturday morning. He was the one who found him dead in his tent at a campground east of Highway 191, up Moose Creek Road.

Dustin’s injuries were so severe that his friend called the incident a bear attack, but after an investigation?

“This is murder. And we are working day and night to find his killer,” said Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer.

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Investigators say Dustin suffered multiple “slash wounds” from a weapon whose purpose is still unclear. Gallatin County investigators have followed up on various leads, but no one is in custody at this time.

“We are asking community members to help us in this way: anyone who was present in the area between the evening hours of Thursday, October 10th and the early morning hours of Saturday, October 12th to contact us says Kamerman.

Investigators are asking anyone who has trail cameras in the area, car cameras who drove through the area or anyone who saw Dustin’s truck at the time to come forward. No matter how small and irrelevant the information you think it is, investigators say it all helps.

Cassidy Powers

“There is someone in our valley who is capable of truly despicable things. If you were in Moose Creek any time Thursday through Saturday, please call and talk to us. Even if you think you haven’t seen anything,” says Jillian.

If you have any information, Sheriff Dan Springer says:

Call (406)-582-2121 during Sheriff’s Office business hours. You can leave a message if it doesn’t happen immediately.

If it is urgent and needs to be discussed after hours, call (406)-582-2100, option 1. This will take you to the headquarters and will be forwarded to a representative.