Authorities in Montana say a 911 caller discovered his friend dead in a tent in what appeared to have been a fatal bear attack — but officials soon discovered the camper was actually the victim of a brutal murder.
Dustin Kjersem, 35, was found dead in his tent on Saturday morning along Moose Creek Road north of Big Sky, Montana, Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer said at news conference Wednesday. A friend who was supposed to have met Kjersem went searching for him when he didn’t show up as scheduled on Friday.
The friend ultimately discovered Kjersem’s body in a tent at a makeshift campsite and called 911, telling responders the death appeared to have been caused by a bear attack, the sheriff’s office said.
I don’t know why but it reminds me of a case of a couple murdered when they were camping, with the killer leaving their camera behind, with mysterious black and white photo of some interior made after the last photo of the couple made in the bed of their truck. I can’t remember their names now.
Yeah I don’t think you can mimic how a bear would kill someone.
*Headline wasn’t what I read it as, the actual friend did find him like that and thought it was a bear attack.
This is not far from Yellowstone so there will be grizzlies in that area. I could absolutely see someone finding this scene and getting panicked and running to find a cell signal instead of performing forensic analysis of the scene. But yeah the cops weren’t the ones saying it was a bear, they got it at least.
Bears will usually drag you out of the tent and start eating you in the open. They don’t usually kill to kill. They kill by consuming.
PSA: Bear attacks are incredibly rare. Most attacks are “get away from me and my cubs”. They do not see humans as food and do not hunt humans, those incredibly rare cases are sick or starving bears.
If I were in the friend’s position I doubt I would have gotten a close enough look to differentiate. The autopsy said the victim had “multiple chop wounds” including to the skull so it was probably a machete or ax attack. With lots of long deep wounds and blood there wasn’t much chance he was alive when the friend found him so it’s plausible that the friend didn’t actually go into the campsite, just saw the blood and assumed it was a bear because what other animal could do that much damage.
what other animal could do that much damage.
Humans :^(
So are you saying that if I had to choose between a random human or a random bear then I should pick the bear?
Undisputed world champion killers
IIRC it’s not even close if we consider insects (because of mosquitoes) but otherwise I think you’re actually right
I want to downvote this answer because of how it makes me feel. But… yeah.
Fun fact, there’s a possibility that our hands evolved the way they did, because using them as clubs was useful.
And by fun, I mean depressing.
Homo homini ursus
When I go camping I bring spray for the wildlife and a .45 ACP pistol for the humans. What makes camping out there great is also what makes it dangerous.
.40 here. Better not come up on my tent in the night unannounced.
Manners says you always announce yourself entering a campsite. It’s like going aboard a ship.
Is this not normal?
Must be stressful to live so paranoid.
Interesting comment under an article about a guy hacked to death in his tent… Yeah, I’m just paranoid🙄
Hahaha I said words
I’ve got no objection to the pistol, but what is the likelihood of being murdered camping alone in the middle of the woods like this guy was?
About as high as being mauled by a bear (assuming you took the standard precautions). Highly unlikely but also non-zero.
I camp alone fairly frequently. Usually the worst people I met are hipsters who can’t get their alchy stoves working for morning coffee and smell the perc.
No. Im not sharing. (The coffee. They can use the fire too,)
Significantly higher than zero, apparently
Higher yes, significantly not necessarily.
The body was found in a tent. Not much time to protect yourself when you’re asleep.
C’mon, the bear closed the tent flap?
Bears be polite like that!
I always slept with my S&W Governor
