Incident reported as a possible bear attack was actually vicious murder, investigators say
Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office
(GALLATIN COUNTY, MT) — Investigators are asking for help solving a “vicious” murder that was so brutal a 911 caller had reported it as a possible bear attack, according to the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office.
A friend found 35-year-old Dustin Kjersem dead in a tent on Saturday morning about 2.5 miles up Moose Creek Road, in a fairly remote camping area in Montana, according to Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer.
Kjersem was last heard from on Oct. 10 as he was leaving to go camping for the weekend. He had plans to meet with a friend on Friday afternoon, according to the sheriff’s office.
After he did not make it to the meetup location, Kjersem’s friend went looking for him and ultimately found him dead.
When investigators responded to the scene of the crime, a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks agent with expertise in bear attacks did not find any signs of bear activity at the scene, prompting investigators to treat the incident as a murder, according to the sheriff’s office.
This was further confirmed through evidence gathered during an autopsy which determined multiple wounds led to his death.
Investigators are not sure what the murder weapon was, but the weapon was something “hard enough to cause significant damage to the skull as well as some flesh areas of the body,” Springer said at a press conference Wednesday.
“This incident was a vicious attack, and detectives are working hard to develop and track down leads. A suspect has not been arrested at this time,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement.
It has not yet been determined what time he was killed and investigators have not identified any suspects in the murder.
Kjersem had lots of equipment at the campsite with him and it was “very well kept,” according to Springer.
The remote location of the murder makes it difficult for the investigation due to limited cellphone services, which typically can be very helpful to investigators, Springer said.
“If you are out in the woods, I need you to be paying attention, you need to remain vigilant. Please, just call us,” Sheriff Dan Springer said at a press conference Wednesday.
The sheriff’s office said people have reached out to them already, giving them multiple leads that they will explore as the investigation into what happened continues.
“If you were in the Moose Creek area, or anywhere in Gallatin Canyon, between Thursday afternoon and early Saturday morning and noticed anything unusual — whether you saw Dustin, Dustin’s truck, noticed suspicious activity, have footage from game cameras or in-vehicle cameras from the area or observed something out of place — please come forward. Even the smallest detail could be crucial to the investigation,” the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Facebook.
(NEW YORK) — Even as the South continues its recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Helene, another storm system is showing the potential for development in the Gulf of Mexico.
Early October is still not far from last month’s peak of the hurricane season.
Most of the tropical systems in the Atlantic will stay away from the U.S., including Tropical Storm Kirk, but one system in the Caribbean could move into the Gulf by the end of the week.
At this time, it is still too early to say how much it will develop and where it will hit. But some of our most trusted computer models bring this system to Florida by early next week with heavy rain.
Right now, it has a 40% chance of development by the end of the week.
If the system is named, it could be called Leslie or Milton, depends on whether something forms in the Atlantic first.
(NEW YORK) — Jimmy Carter will turn 100 years old on Oct. 1.
The former president of the United States will reach the milestone birthday, about 20 months since entering home hospice care in February 2023.
Carter’s late wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter, died on Nov. 19, 2023, two days after the Carter family announced publicly that their matriarch had started hospice care as well. She was later honored at a memorial service held at Emory University’s Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta, where Jimmy Carter made a rare appearance.
“Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” former President Jimmy Carter said in a statement at the time. “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”
Rosalynn Carter had been diagnosed with dementia in her final year of life.
The Carters were, and Jimmy Carter remains the head of a large extended family. Get to know their beloved children below.
Meet Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter’s family:
Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter, who were married for 77 years, had four children: three sons — John William, James Earl III, Donnel Jeffrey — and one daughter, Amy Lynn.
In addition to their four children, the Carters were grandparents of 12 (one deceased) and great-grandparents to 14 children, according to the Jimmy Carter Library.
The Carters grew up together as neighbors and schoolmates in Plains, Georgia and went on to become the longest-married couple in presidential history. They married on July 7, 1946.
Jimmy Carter told ABC News in 2021 that the key to their long and happy marriage included taking the time to both “share as much as we possibly can” and giving each other permission to pursue separate interests.
“We’ve survived this long together because first of all, we give each other plenty of space to do our own thing,” he said at the time.
“We’re always looking to do things or find things we can do together, like fly fishing and bird watching and just going out to the pond,” Rosalynn Carter also added.
Learn more about the Carters’ children:
Jack Carter
Jack Carter was born in Virginia in July 1947, nearly a year after his parents’ marriage.
He owns an investment company and lives in Las Vegas.
The eldest Carter son was previously a lawyer and a businessman and in 2016, followed his father’s footsteps into politics. He ran as a Democratic candidate for the Senate in Nevada but lost to incumbent Republican Sen. John Ensign.
He was previously married to Juliette “Judy” Langford and they share two children – son Jason James and daughter Sarah Rosemary, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, which is run by the University of Georgia. Jack Carter has been married to Elizabeth Brasfield since 1992.
Jason Carter delivered the eulogy at the memorial service of his late grandmother Rosalynn Carter.
Chip Carter
James Earl Carter III, named after his father, was born in Hawaii in April 1950.
The second Carter son also grew up in his father’s hometown of Plains but in a 2008 interview with the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, he said his nickname Chip was given to him while he was still in Honolulu.
“‘Chip’ is Hawaiian for ‘baby’ and my blue armband when I was born had ‘Chip Carter’ written on it, which meant ‘baby Carter’ and that’s how I got the name Chip,” he said.
Chip Carter was married in 1973 to Caron Griffin and they had a son named James Earl Carter IV. The couple divorced in 1980. Chip Carter would later marry Ginger Hodges and they had a daughter named Margaret Alicia Carter. Today, Chip Carter is married to Becky Payne, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia.
Chip Carter welcomed guests to the late Rosalynn Carter’s memorial service and called his mother his “hero.”
“I will always love my mother. I will cherish how she and Dad raised their children. They’d given us such a great example of how a couple should relate. Let me finish by saying that my mother, Rosalynn Carter, was the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met and pretty to look at, too. Thank you,” he said.
Jeff Carter
Donnel Jeffrey Carter is the youngest son and third child of the former president and former first lady.
Jeff Carter was born in August 1952 in Connecticut and attended Georgia Southwestern State University, where he would meet his future wife, the late Annette Davis Carter.
The couple married in 1975, lived at the White House and, later, had three children – sons Joshua, Jeremy and James. Jeremy Carter died in 2015 after an apparent heart attack, according to the biography “His Very Best Jimmy Carter, a Life,” by Jonathan Alter.
Amy Carter
Amy Lynn Carter is the youngest of the Carter kids and was born in Plains in October 19, 1967.
Amy was one of the speakers at her late mother’s memorial service and read letters her father Jimmy had written to her mother Rosalynn.
“My mom spent most of her life in love with my dad. Their partnership and love story was a defining feature of her life,” Amy Carter said. “Because he isn’t able to speak to you today. I am going to share some of his words about loving and missing her.”
“This is from a letter he wrote 75 years ago while he was serving in the Navy. ‘My darling, every time I have ever been away from you, I have been thrilled when I returned to discover just how wonderful you are. While I’m away, I try to convince myself that you really are not, could not be as sweet and beautiful as I remember. But when I see you, I fall in love with you all over again. Does that seem strange to you? It doesn’t to me. Goodbye, darling. Until tomorrow, Jimmy,'” she finished.
Amy Carter spent her young teenage years in the White House when her father was president and her mother was first lady, between 1977 and 1981.
In 1996, Amy Carter married James Wentzel and the couple had a son, Hugo James Wentzel, who was born on July 29, 1999. The couple later divorced and Amy Carter remarried Jay Kelly. They also welcomed a son, named Errol Carter Kelly.
In the summer of 2023, Hugo James Wentzel appeared on the second season of the reality competition show “Claim to Fame,” which features celebrity relatives, and revealed he was one of the Carters’ grandchildren.
“He’s an amazing grandpa, honestly. I love him so much. I call him Papa,” Wentzel said of the former president. “He led America and my family very well. I stand for everything he stands for. He believes in equality for everyone, regardless of race, class, gender, anything. He’s just an amazing person. I aspire to be like him one day.”
(LOS ANGELES) — More than 8,600 firefighters simultaneously battling three major Southern California wildfires made substantial progress overnight, taking advantage of cooler and wetter weather to increase containment lines on all three blazes, authorities said Sunday.
The largest blaze — the Bridge Fire burning in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties — was at 54,567 acres as of Sunday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
More than 2,600 emergency personnel battling the fire increased containment to 9% on Sunday, up from 2% on Saturday morning. Fire crews ensured a “minimal” spread of the inferno by about 800 acres overnight, according to Cal Fire.
Two firefighters have been injured in the Bridge Fire, which began on Sept. 8. At least 19 structures have been destroyed and six damaged, with 11,560 more still under threat, Cal Fire said.
The northwest corner of the fire was most active through Saturday, Cal Fire added, while the east side of the blaze still poses risks to residents in the Mount Baldy area, where evacuation orders remain in effect.
Firefighters held their containment line on its south side in the Sunset Peak area, and increased containment there by 2%.
The cause of the Bridge Fire remains under investigation.
Elsewhere in the Los Angeles area, firefighters were gaining the upper hand on two other major wildland blazes.
Line Fire
Firefighters in San Bernardino County increased containment of the Line Fire to 36% on Sunday morning, up from 25% to 29% on Saturday, according to Cal Fire. The blaze, which was started Sept. 5 by an alleged arsonist, was 38,421 acres in size as of Cal Fire’s latest update Sunday morning.
Some 36,300 structures are being threatened, with one destroyed and three damaged as of Sunday. There are 4,103 fire personnel fighting the blaze, with three firefighters so far injured.
“Late Friday night and into the early hours Saturday, Line Fire activity was moderated due to higher moisture levels,” San Bernardino National Forest officials said, though they added that danger of spreading fire remained in dry vegetation, drainages and along slopes.
“The weather is expected to remain cool over the next several days which will continue to help moderate fire behavior,” the national forest officials said.
Airport Fire
Firefighters battling the Airport Fire in Orange and Riverside counties grew containment from 9% to 19% on Saturday, Cal Fire reported, with the fire now 23,519 acres in size.
The wildfire destroyed 109 structures and damaged 24 more as of Saturday night, Cal Fire said, with another 21,993 still threatened. Fourteen people — 12 firefighters and two civilians — have been injured.
“Favorable weather conditions persisted, with the marine layer returning this evening and forecast light precipitation in the coming days,” Cal Fire wrote on Saturday evening.
“Despite recent weather, the dry vegetation has exhibited active fire behavior, indicating the continued risk of increased fire activity,” Cal Fire said.
“Evacuation levels are being assessed daily by fire managers in collaboration with law enforcement based on fire containment and safety considerations,” it added. “Efforts are underway to safely return residents to their homes as conditions permit.”
The Airport Fire began around 1 p.m. PT on Tuesday, sparked by county public works crews working on a fire prevention project by trying to move boulders to prevent public access — mostly by motorcyclists — to an area of the canyon with a lot of dry vegetation that could ignite easily, officials told Los Angeles ABC station KABC.
ABC News’ Samira Said and Tristan Maglunog contributed to this report.
