With permission of Laurawlm, Angela and the mods.
Part 1.
Transcript of meeting with Mineral County Montana Board of Commissioners, November 26, 2021, with her family and concerned citizens. Video, time: 30:12 - 45:29
Missing Rebekah Barsotti, née Rose,
Roman Zylawi <chairman, RZ>: On the agenda we’ve got Angela Mastrovito (AM). Okay, discussion of your missing daughter Rebekah…okay…. we have Ellen <Donahue? Montana Mineral County Attorney ?> here on, I guess. Did you want to start off with it or do you <Angela> want to start off? I guess you called the meeting.
AM: I requested the meeting. I’m not familiar with the policies of procedures so whatever you typically do I’m fine with that. I can either speak first or somebody from the department can speak first, whatever you prefer.
RZ: Yeah, well I’ve got your thing that you’re requesting the meeting to talk about so I guess we’ll let you start.
Male?: Well I think what she’s trying to understand is that… maybe if we could understand where it is in the process with the law enforcement (LE). That part, I think, that would help for everybody have an idea of a the summery of where we’re at. That part and so maybe you Mike <Toth> can tell us what the status is or what has been done?
Mike Toth <Mineral County Sheriff, MT>: Well, I don’t want to impose on her time. If she’s here to talk to them <the commission members> about what she believes hasn’t been done or been done then I think she needs to voice that first and then I can get up and….She and her husband are well aware from Missoula and us <Mineral> of what’s been done and they’ve been briefed multiple time. So I? listen, I guess. It’s curious to me anyways.
AM: Well I go forward. Do you want me to sit up here <at the conference table>
RZ: You can sit wherever you like.
AM: All right, <taking place at the conference table> I want to thank you very much for the opportunity to be here. As you can see on the agenda request, the purpose of the meeting is to discuss how Rebekah Barsotti’s case has been handled by the Mineral county sheriff’s department. It is my hope that, after this, we will be able to move forward and move this case out of this county into state or federal jurisdiction. And I will explain my reasons why as we go through.
First an foremost the main reason, is that on the admission of sheriff Toth, there is a lack of resources in the county due to the number of deputies….which on, I understand, September 29th <2021>, was 6 deputies. There are no investigators and there are no detectives in Mineral county, so the only way to access those is to request them from outside sources. I believe that that hinders the progress in my daughter’s case.
Rebekah is actually part of three cases here in the county. I don’t know if you are aware of that.
There was a 9-1-1 call on March 9 <2021> for domestic abuse which was followed by a PFMA <Partner and Family Member Assault> charge against her estranged husband David Barsotti and a standing order of ‘no contact’. That case number is TK59520210000-237 and that’s from march 10th of 2021.
And then Rebekah went missing on July 20th <2021> and that case number is 2021-12676.
And then the most recent case brought to your county is a threat on my husband’s and my self’s life…..which was reported in Missoula City and got punted to Missoula county and then punted here <Mineral county> and the reason that it got punted, as far as I was informed, is that it is directly tied to Rebekah’s missing person case. Okay, so I wanted to discuss that as well.
As far as the lack of staffing and resources that is published on Sheriff Toth’s Mineral County Sheriff Office Facebook post it specifically says that they have limited resources. At the joint Sheriff’s meeting on September 29th 2021 with Missoula and Mineral county Sheriff, Sheriff Toth stated “we have 6 deputies”.
We believe that from the onset of Rebekah’s missing there has been a lack of due diligence. The area was not thoroughly assessed at mile marker 72. When we asked if anybody knew the number of trucks or the number of vehicles at mile marker 72, they did not. When we asked if they knew the number of vehicles at St. John’s access site, they did not have that recorded and St. John’s access has multiple overgrown bushes. If you’ve been down there during this summer many of the vehicles you can’t see until you’re on top of them because the bushes are so overgrown. Sheriff Toth informed the family that all items at the scene were compromised, with the exception of Rebekah’s phone. Nothing has been submitted for forensics. The Mineral County Sheriff’s Office is now in possession of Rebekah’s laptop. This has never been accessed. There was an incomplete search of Rebekah’s vehicle. Meant at the time of discovery at mile marker 72, the Mineral county deputies did not find a gun in the car and when I asked Missoula about her gun on July 23rd <2021> they said that it had not been reported. I said "then you have another problem on your hands". So when they went to go get Rebekah’s car, they found the gun in the pocket of the driver’s store. So that would lead me to believe there was not a thorough investigation of the vehicle.
The vehicle itself has never had forensics performed on it and when the statement about Rebekah’s missing was released about Rebekah missing, there was no context about her being married or had being in a domestic abuse situation. That was completely left out of anything that was released to the media or the public. The charges were not acknowledged by LE, but those charges were filed here, in Mineral county. There is an attachment from ‘The Missoulian’ (a newspaper?) that you <directed to the board> can look at later on your time.
On 7/25 <2021> sergeant <Ryan> Funk informed myself and my sister Laura Williams that there were no tracking dogs or land or surrounding areas. The only dogs used were for the water in the riverbank, but they failed to look on land.
On 9/29 <2021> in a joint meeting Sheriff Toth said; “we didn’t know what we had”. So if you don’t know what you have it would seem to me that you should attempt to rule out foul play, instead of just assuming a river accident.
Mile marker 72 is a truck stop. It is well attended and it’s a recreation area and a fish access area.
Interstate 90 is known for an increase in human and drug trafficking. Things to consider why there were no tracking or scent dogs used at the scene within 72 hours of the event on land. Why have there been no attempts to open and access Rebekah’s laptop and if there’s no need for it then why was it even taken from her trailer in Missoula? Why has LE had Rebekah’s car for four months and not processed it for forensics?
By labeling Rebekah as a river accident it has obstructed available resources from being accessed. With cadaver dogs being limited to the water in the riverbank, land was never searched. Cadaver dogs are available from non-profit groups but they have to be invited by the Sheriff. I cannot personally afford to pay for a team of cadaver dogs to come in and search the area.
Sheriff Toth’s lack of cooperation to work with search teams results in an obstructive an obstruction to investigative procedures. If Mineral county does not have the resources to properly and thoroughly investigate, they should reach out to state or federal agencies. It’s also my understanding that St. John’s fishing access appears to be owned by Montana Fish Game and Wildlife. Why was the state not invited?
There also seems to be a lack of tact and professionalism within the department. On August 4th <2021> Angela and Jerry <Angela’s husband> Mastrovito met with Sheriff Toth, under-sheriff Cheesman and sergeant Ryan Funk. Sheriff Toth informed us; “I was not even going to look for your daughter”. Exhibiting at the very least lack of tact and professionalism. Rebekah was a victim of domestic violence and with an active PFMA charge against her estranged husband. This alone should have been initiated due diligence in regards in investigating this event beyond the river.
For examples of conflict of interest within the department, on July 26th <2021>, in a phone conversation with Sheriff Toth, he informed me that Cerberus was in poor health and that he trusted the person who informed him of this. The only other person who would know this is David Barsotti, Rebekah’s estranged husband. Trusting an individual would lead one to believe the relationship is stronger than an acquaintance. Trust is a quality that you earn. It is not typically freely given.
On August 4th <2021> at a meeting with Sheriff Toth and under-sheriff Cheesman and sergeant Ryan Funk, Sheriff Toth informed us that David <Barsotti> did not have a lot of money. An acquaintance is not typically aware of a person’s financial situation. Sergeant Ryan Funk admitted to being friends with David and having knowledge of David’s <Barsotti> background. David reports being an ex-marine, special OPS and other contracted positions.
On October 5th Angela and Jerry Mastrovito attended a meeting with Sheriff TJ McDermott and sergeant Ryan Prather in Missoula. During the meeting, Sheriff Toth emailed me at 11:13, stating he needed to talk to me. David <Barsotti> had called requesting Rebekah’s guns from the department. During this meeting at Missoula, which we were in from 11:00 to 12:30, we were informed that Rebekah’s personal belongings had been transferred back to Mineral county as of that morning. This creates additional doubts to consider a conflict of interest.
How did David <Barsotti> know Rebekah’s personal items were back in possession of Mineral county? Sheriff Toth said he hoped that it was a coincidence, during a phone conversation.
Reports not available and/or unwillingness to release information.
There was a misfiling of the affidavit of probable cause from Rebekah’s domestic call on March 9 <2021> This was discovered on September 22nd <2021> and released to the media. This was misfiled for 6 months. On August 16th <2021> myself and my husband requested copies of all public documents and we were informed there were none available. On September 22nd <2021> an investigative journalist called to inquire about the affidavit of probable cause and it was found and released.
On November 16th, 2021, my sister, Laura Williams, submitted a FOIA request for 9-1-1 calls placed on July 20th<2021>. This request is pending and the reason given was…the information returned to her was… For criminal investigation, pending criminal investigation or closed criminal investigation and she was informed to submit an additional form: The application of criminal justice information. She had mailed this off and to date <November 26, 2021> there has been no response. 9-1-1 calls are public information according to Montana law .To our knowledge Rebekah’s case has never been treated as a criminal investigation. Sheriff Toth continues to label this case as a river accident. If this is a river accident the question to consider here is Rebekah’s case a river accident or is it a criminal investigation? Because the answer determines how the case proceeds.
Attorney Spencer Bradford? has requested a copy of the hard drive from Rebekah’s laptop. This does not compromise the chain of command or the integrity. That request was submitted in October 28th <2021>. There has been no response. My question is; is it common practice to use the veil of criminal investigation or pending criminal investigation to avoid accountability and/or action?
There seems to be an unwillingness to accept assistance from vetted and reputable non-profit organizations, state and federal agencies. On 7/26 <2021> Angela and Jerry Mastrovito verbally requested state and/or federal assistance. Request was refused by Sheriff Toth. On 8/4 <2021> meeting with Sheriff Toth, Angela and Jerry Mastrovito asked why certain agencies were not accessed, such as Civil Air Patrol and Montana Search and Rescue. Sheriff Toth's answer was “no”. There was no reason provided for this decision.
Rebekah’s case was transferred to Missoula county on July 29th <2021>. Multiple requests for additional resources were met with a ‘no’. Requests for land searches were denied multiple times. On October 30th <2021> I had reached out to have Crime Stoppers participate. Sheriff Toth’s reaction to the request to me was “If we need it then we will reach out”. No further action on this part. Crime Stoppers does not charge for the service provided. As Rebekah’s mother I thought it was imperative, because there could be leads out there that no one is coming forward with because of fear and so it would not, in any way, jeopardize the investigation to have anonymous tips provided. I feel that by not acting on my request Sheriff Toth was, in essence, refusing to assist, therefore obstructing access to an additional resource. Brian Frost?, missing persons specialist from the DOJ <Department of Justice> was instrumental in assisting me with this request and Crime Stoppers accepted Rebekah’s case on November 8th <2021>. An additional request refused is to the Find Me Group. The Find Me Group is a non-profit organization. It is comprised of active and retired law enforcement. They have linguistic specialists, they have drowning investigators. They are vetted and reputable. They have an established relationship with law enforcement throughout the USA and the world.
