Arrest Made - Dustin Kjersem, 35, killed while camping, 911 caller thought bear attack, sheriff says murder, Oct. 12, 2024

[RickshawFan]

I should think it likely that his sisters and/or friends would know if he normally took an axe or hatchet with him when camping. So if he did, and it's missing, it was most likely the weapon used.

If he owned a wall tent, he likely had a hatchet or axe. This is not casual car camping or throw-it-together. If you're heavy duty on one thing, you'd be heavy duty on all of it. A hatchet would be used for chopping trees, splitting firewood, or securing the tent. Generally making use of the items nature provides on site or nearby.

 

[vls12345]

I'm listening to the sheriff. He says DK had a wall tent, maybe 8'-10' square.
That is HUGE! It's actually about the size of my living room. And it would have high walls. Canvas. These are WWI (yes, one) style army tents. Often floorless. You can see them at boys and girls camps on platforms. If you ever went to Girl Scout camp, that's what I'm talking about. Remember how you could put several beds in each (4 was common), as well as some shelves?

Hunters buy special pot belly stoves for these tents.

These are sometimes called cabin tents.

I'm posting an example. I don't know what the bride and groom are doing in here, but you get the idea. I wanted to use a photo in the public domain. This one is probably 10' wide.

View attachment 539194

Thanks for posting this. I was visualizing something much smaller with an attack occurring through the fabric of the tent. (Killer outside. Victim inside.)

If it's like the tent you are posting, I think there would have been plenty of room for both the killer and victim to have been inside.

If there was no floor, I wonder if there are footprints, blood spatter, etc. that can be used in the investigation?

MOO.

 

[georgiajean]

I'm listening to the sheriff. He says DK had a wall tent, maybe 8'-10' square.
That is HUGE! It's actually about the size of my living room. And it would have high walls. Canvas. These are WWI (yes, one) style army tents. Often floorless. You can see them at boys and girls camps on platforms. If you ever went to Girl Scout camp, that's what I'm talking about. Remember how you could put several beds in each (4 was common), as well as some shelves?

Hunters buy special pot belly stoves for these tents.

These are sometimes called cabin tents.

I'm posting an example. I don't know what the bride and groom are doing in here, but you get the idea. I wanted to use a photo in the public domain. This one is probably 10' wide.

View attachment 539194

Thanks for the image! To get a grasp of how big 10x8 or 10x10 would be is helpful!
I found this great site that has them for sale. White Duck Alpha 8'x10' Wall Fire Wall Repellent Tent
Here is a comparison between 8x10 and 10x12: The 8x10 is 7'6" high inside!

 

[Herat]

Thanks for the image! To get a grasp of how big 10x8 or 10x10 would be is helpful!
I found this great site that has them for sale. White Duck Alpha 8'x10' Wall Fire Wall Repellent Tent
Here is a comparison between 8x10 and 10x12: The 8x10 is 7'6" high inside!
View attachment 539195

I was just thinking about the size of that tent. It is the size of a bedroom and LE described it as being well-outfitted. This is not what I had envisioned for a weekend camping trip. It would be a lot of work to put up that tent and take it down. I wonder if it was there longer than that and perhaps someone decided to squat in it, and took DK by surprise. There would certainly be enough room to swing an ax inside of it

 

[RedHaus]

I was just thinking about the size of that tent. It is the size of a bedroom and LE described it as being well-outfitted. This is not what I had envisioned for a weekend camping trip. It would be a lot of work to put up that tent and take it down. I wonder if it was there longer than that and perhaps someone decided to squat in it, and took DK by surprise. There would certainly be enough room to swing an ax inside of it

A local OP described ^^^ this dispersed campground is often used by construction workers with nearby contract work because local housing is either too expensive or not available (can't recall which).

So that makes me wonder, given how 'established' DK's campsite may have been, whether DK actually lived there on and off during warmer months as his handyman work required. And the 'camping trip' may have been his friend visiting DK at his campsite for the weekend, with plans to meet somewhere on Friday so DK could bring his friend to the campsite.

Its hard to imagine DK errecting and outfitting what sounds like a pretty elaborate campsite just for a weekend.

 

[Herat]

Do we know where DK's tools are? Did he leave them locked in his truck or at some domicile in-town ( if he had one). I wouldn't think he would leave them in his tent.

 

[georgiajean]

I was just thinking about the size of that tent. It is the size of a bedroom and LE described it as being well-outfitted. This is not what I had envisioned for a weekend camping trip. It would be a lot of work to put up that tent and take it down. I wonder if it was there longer than that and perhaps someone decided to squat in it, and took DK by surprise. There would certainly be enough room to swing an ax inside of it

Here are two videos of how to set up one of these wall tents.

This tent has a floor....

 

[georgiajean]

A local OP described ^^^ this dispersed campground is often used by construction workers with nearby contract work because local housing is either too expensive or not available (can't recall which).

So that makes me wonder, given how 'established' DK's campsite may have been, whether DK actually lived there on and off during warmer months as his handyman work required. And the 'camping trip' may have been his friend visiting DK at his campsite for the weekend, with plans to meet somewhere on Friday so DK could bring his friend to the campsite.

Its hard to imagine DK errecting and outfitting what sounds like a pretty elaborate campsite just for a weekend.

I have known a few hunter/outdoors types that live in places like Montana, and they would think nothing of setting this up for a weekend adventure. It was about having the comforts of home in the outdoors. Once you've set one up a few times, it is pretty easy. But it does explain more of why he went up Thursday to set up, and had Friday to enjoy the outdoors before picking up the friend.

The million dollar questions are WHO was the friend and why were they going camping and where were they supposed to meet and why was DK picking him up instead of him driving his own vehicle up?

 

[Cedars]

I have known a few hunter/outdoors types that live in places like Montana, and they would think nothing of setting this up for a weekend adventure. It was about having the comforts of home in the outdoors. Once you've set one up a few times, it is pretty easy. But it does explain more of why he went up Thursday to set up, and had Friday to enjoy the outdoors before picking up the friend.

I would echo this. A person who is 'into' camping has all their gear packed all the time, and has a routine for setting up camp. It's actually a lot of the fun of camping: becoming self-sufficient, well-prepared, able to take care of all your needs and desires while being in the wilderness.

Maybe the friend had to work on Friday, whereas Dustin did not. I just see it as friendly for Dustin to go pick up his friend, rather than making his friend try to find the campsite himself while Dustin sat around doing nothing.

JMO

 

[Sweeper2000]

Don't know if it's been clarified but bear attacks are quite obvious. Wounds are tears due to bites and scratching and punctures due to claws. Place would be ripped to shreds as bears are incredibly aggressive in attack. Would also be easy to spot bear tracks. Chopping wounds are easy to distinguish as they gape and are torn apart rather than separated due to cutting/slicing. However if that poor guy had been savaged with an axe ie hit many many times it would be so messy it would be difficult to tell especially if not looking in detail as his friend presumably was and this guy probably had many defensive wounds.

For it to be something personal the perpetrator/s would have to know he was going camping and where he intended to camp. If he was followed from home I bet cameras would have picked up on the car responsible but I doubt that. This to me sounds like a average weekend out in the woods for a fire, some bevvies and maybe a sing song with a pal. The circle of people who would know those details would be quite small as its just an average weekend. Anyone attacking him would have to have a reason for such a significant thing to be done, did this man have enemies? Or involved in unscrupulous circles? If no then its not likely and more likely the killing was opportunistic in nature especially with his gear left behind. May have been a down and out no gooder roaming the woods. Jmo

 

[Kemug]

Do we know if the victim was found in his bed/sleeping bag, or outside of it?

 

[Cedars]

I feel like there must have been some surveillance, if not an actual encounter, to determine that Dustin was alone. He might easily, last minute, have brought along a different friend, or a girl, etc.

JMO

 

[acutename]

Remember Kam McLeod and Bryer Shmegelsky's killing spree? Scary. Hoping this isn't similar.

they did steal vehicles and supplies however....so there was a pattern to their insanity

 

[acutename]

If he owned a wall tent, he likely had a hatchet or axe. This is not casual car camping or throw-it-together. If you're heavy duty on one thing, you'd be heavy duty on all of it. A hatchet would be used for chopping trees, splitting firewood, or securing the tent. Generally making use of the items nature provides on site or nearby.

super creepy if he was killed with his own camp axe. IMO.

 

[swanniee11]

I am not a camper however from reading above posts I agree that this tent setup seems to be a lot of work when he was supposed to meet his friend the following day? Would you set all that up, take it down the next day and lug it to meet the friend just to set it up again or am I misunderstand this?

 

[georgiajean]

I am not a camper however from reading above posts I agree that this tent setup seems to be a lot of work when he was supposed to meet his friend the following day? Would you set all that up, take it down the next day and lug it to meet the friend just to set it up again or am I misunderstand this?

When you are camping like this, you would set up, and if you had to go somewhere, you would leave it set up and trust the "campers code" of leaving others' stuff where it belongs. Some people set up alarms of different types, but most trust their fellow campers, hunters, fishers.

 

[georgiajean]

Do we know if the victim was found in his bed/sleeping bag, or outside of it?

No, this fact has not been disclosed. He was in his tent, that's all we know.

 

[swanniee11]

When you are camping like this, you would set up, and if you had to go somewhere, you would leave it set up and trust the "campers code" of leaving others' stuff where it belongs. Some people set up alarms of different types, but most trust their fellow campers, hunters, fishers.

So was he meeting his friend and going back to his campsite ( which makes the most sense) or was he moving to another area? I may have misread/understood the whole meeting friend thing. TIA

 

[georgiajean]

So was he meeting his friend and going back to his campsite ( which makes the most sense) or was he moving to another area? I may have misread/understood the whole meeting friend thing. TIA

DK set up camp Thursday afternoon with the intention of having friend join him for the weekend at that camp. He was supposed to meet the friend Friday afternoon to bring them to camp. It was the same campsite, he never would have packed everything up and moved to a different site, it wouldn't have made sense.

 

[Boots38]

I was just thinking about the size of that tent. It is the size of a bedroom and LE described it as being well-outfitted. This is not what I had envisioned for a weekend camping trip. It would be a lot of work to put up that tent and take it down. I wonder if it was there longer than that and perhaps someone decided to squat in it, and took DK by surprise. There would certainly be enough room to swing an ax inside of it

Camping isn't all that hard and if you want a nice camping experience you take the time needed to set up your camp site, no matter how long it takes. I spend lots of time camping each year.