BOZEMAN, Mont. — When Dustin Kjersem was found dead inside his tent at a remote Montana campsite with extensive injuries to his skull and body, it was initially reported as a possible bear mauling.
There have been previous grizzly bear attacks in the forests of southwestern Montana, but investigators found no evidence of any bears at Kjersem's campsite. They're now investigating 35-year-old Kjersem's death as a homicide, after an autopsy revealed he was killed by multiple chop wounds inflicted by an unknown weapon.
No arrests have been made, and local authorities could not say if Kjersem's killer posed a continuing public threat.
''But we do know that someone was out there who killed someone in a very heinous way,'' Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer said at a press conference Wednesday. ''So if you're out in the woods, I need you to be paying attention. You need to remain vigilant.''
Kjersem went camping northeast of Big Sky, Montana, on Oct. 10 with plans to meet a friend the next day, Springer said.
The friend found the body on Saturday, the sheriff said. Another person identified only as an ''associate'' called 911 and reported it as a possible bear mauling, said Capt. Nate Kamerman with the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office.
It's unknown when he died.
His campsite — in the Moose Creek area at the base of the Gallatin Mountains — was not in an established campground.
