Story Published:
May 5, 2009 at 6:00 PM MST
Story Updated:
May 7, 2009 at 4:25 AM MST
BILLINGS - Twelve years ago this week, 18-year-old Denise Lynn Russell went missing near Busby. KULR-8 starts a series looking into her case, which remains the only unsolved murder in Powder River County.
In 1997, a beautiful Native American girl with green eyes, 18-year-old Denise Lynn Russell was looking forward to graduating from high school, making a difference in the Northern Cheyenne community and the world beyond the reservation.
Powder River County Undersheriff, Brett Tabolt says in spite of some of the obstacles facing children on the reservation, "She probably had a shot at a good future. She was a very, bright intelligent girl and probably had a million choices in front of her." Her aunt, Theresa Crazy Mule recalls her infectious laugh and her ambition. "She used to always talk about graduating high school." But she never had the opportunity to graduate.
Kathryn Russell's only child, her precious Denise vanished that spring, never to be seen alive again. Even though more than a decade has passed, the pain of the loss remains painfully raw for relatives, in part because Russell's killer or killers have never been brought to justice. Kathryn Russell says with tears in her eyes, "I have a lot of dreams about her. I think about her every day."
Russell says her daughter usually stayed close to home. But on the night of May 1st, 1997, she stayed out all night at a party in Busby. Undersheriff Tabolt says, "She typically was not a person who didn't spend the night away from home. She liked to be home every night."
Investigators say after a night of drinking with friends at a house in Busby, she was ready to go home. But none of her friends were. She was determined to get back to her mom in Lame Deer 16 miles away.
As Russell recalls, "I never saw her again." Her aunt painfully remembers, "She said she'd always be there for us. She always would be there to take care of her mom." The last time anyone saw her alive was May 2nd, 1997, walking along Highway 212 in front of the Busby post office. For months, no one knew what happened to her.
Then in September of 1997, about 50 miles from where she was last seen, a rancher made a gruesome discovery in an abandoned barn while herding cattle in a remote part of Powder River County. The man who found Russell's body was cleared of all suspicion in the case. Authorities asked that we not reveal his identity.
He said finding Russell's body was a shocking and life-changing experience. "You basically think it would never happen where you live. It's probably something I'll never get over. I'll remember it forever."
Authorities say evidence from the scene revealed a violent death. But they will not specify what they discovered. Powder River County Undersheriff Brett Tabolt has driven this stretch of Highway 212 hundreds of times over the last 12 years. And still, thoughts of Denise Russell haunt him.
"I've got to be pretty busy where I don't think about it." The Russell homicide is the only unsolved murder in Powder River County. The FBI and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation all got involved, but after well over 200 interviews the leads dried up and the case turned cold.
Still, the memory of Russell burns in Undersheriff Tabolt's memory. "Nobody should have to go through losing a child." In the next part of our series, more details from the case, some of the changes over the last 12 years, and why Tabolt believes now might be the best time to heat up this cold case.
"I've never wanted to give up on it. The family deserves closure, the community deserves an answer to the question: Why?"
The FBI is offering a $25,000 dollar reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Russell's killer or killers. You can contact the FBI Billings office at (406) 248-8487 or the Powder River County Sheriff's Office at (406) 436-2333.
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