A man suspected of murder in the camp was arrested after DNA analysis

On October 12, Montana resident Dustin Kiersem was found dead in his tent after being attacked by an animal. Montana authorities have since declared the incident an “intentional homicide” and arrested a suspect.

Kjersem was killed on the night of October 10, but was not discovered until his girlfriend and a friend became suspicious of his disappearance. Kjersem was supposed to pick up Kjersem’s girlfriend and bring her to the camp.

DNA evidence linked Darren Christopher Abbey to the scene after officials recovered a can of beer from the campsite. After apprehending Abby in Butte, Montana, about 80 miles northwest of the crime scene, he told officials that Kiersem had welcomed him to her campsite, offering him beer.

Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer sent an assurance to the community that this was an isolated incident; The abbey operated alone. Abby confessed to the murder, but his motive is still unknown. An autopsy revealed the gruesome nature of the murder, indicating that Kjersem was initially knocked down by a blunt blow with a piece of wood.

In addition, the autopsy showed that the victim was then stabbed several times in the neck with a screwdriver and an ax.

Kiersem was found in his tent about 1.5 miles up Moose Creek Road, in an area that is fairly well populated by campers, hikers and hunters. Before receiving evidence that narrows the search for a suspect, the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Department pleaded with those who were in the area at the time of the killing to provide any context as to what might have happened.

As of Friday, Abby is being held on $1.5 million bail. Although he was initially arrested for a probation violation in Butte, Montana, Abby has now been officially charged with first degree murder.

Springer noted that Abby cooperated in the process by providing detectives with a list of items he took from the crime scene. The can of beer was left, of course, but Abby took the axe, the Yeti cooler, the revolver, and the shotgun.

The investigation is still ongoing as Sheriff Springer announced that the department is not confident that Abby provided an accurate story.

According to the quote collected NBC Newssome of Springer’s final thoughts on the matter were:

We have some of his story, but we don’t know the real story.

– Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer