On Oct. 12, 2024, Dustin Mitchell Kjersem was found dead in his tent near the popular camping and hunting area, Moose Creek. His girlfriend, whom he was supposed to have met the day before, was the one to stumble upon the horrific scene. She called 911, claiming that Kjersem had been the victim of a bear attack.

Soon afterward, this reasonable assumption was proven wrong. A bear expert from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks examined the area but found no signs of bear activity. According to authorities, Kjersem was victim to multiple “chop wounds”, and the weapon used was hard enough to cause damage to the skull and flesh areas of the body. Police say that Kjersem was murdered, and are looking into his death as a homicide.

In a turn of recent events, a man named Daren Christopher Abbey has been arrested for the crime.

Originally, multiple objects were reported missing from Kjersem’s campsite, and police told the public to be on the lookout for them. These objects were an Estwing Camp Axe (blue and silver), a Remington 11-87 12GA Shotgun (Wood Stock), a Ruger Blackhawk .44 Mag Revolver with a blued 4 5/8” barrel and wood grips, and a Tundra 45 Orange YETI cooler. It can be inferred that these objects were found, due to Abbey’s arrest and his confession to the murder.

Abbey claimed that he was planning to camp in the same location Kjersem already was, and that when he arrived, Kjersem welcomed him and offered him a beer. Allegedly, at some point that night, Abbey hit him with a piece of wood, stabbed him with a screwdriver and struck him with an axe. Abbey removed all the objects that he thought might tie him to the crime, but he missed the beer can covered in his DNA.

Gallatin County Detective Sheriff Dan Springer originally claimed that this case was an unusual one, due to the isolated location and the presented violence. This point still stands even though Abbey has admitted to the crime. This is due to the fact that the motive of this killing is unclear, because the two men appeared not to have known each other before that Thursday night.

“What makes this so much worse is the fact that there doesn’t seem to have been any motive,” says a Hellgate junior who wishes not to be named. “It makes me feel sad and horrified.”