Murder of Wilson Edison Black Elk, Jr. and Ronald Owen Hard Heart

Ronald Hard Heart and Wilson Black Elk Jr

On June 6, 1999, cousins Wilson "Wally" Black Elk, Jr. and Ronald Hard Heart were last seen on the main road to Pine Ridge, South Dakota from White Clay, Nebraska. The two were residents of Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and had likely gone to White Clay (2 miles) to get alcohol. 

On June 8, 1999, their bodies were found at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in a culvert several hundred yards north of the Nebraska-South Dakota. It's believed that the two may have been killed in Nebraska and their bodies dumped where they were found. 

Many of the community believe that the two were victims of a hate crime for being Native American. It was not unheard of for hate crimes in the area. It was suspected that the Klan or members of it might have had something to do with the murders. 

In one article Wilson's niece stated that in the weeks leading up to his death, he was threatened by a bar owner over his $90 bar tab. He was even pulled from his vehicle by them. Wilson was scared cause he stated that the bar owner threatened to have the sheriff and his boys handle it if it wasn't paid. However, the FBI has stated that there was no evidence that the Sheriff and deputies were involved.

SOURCES:
FBI

Argus-Leader June 13, 1999

Star-Herald June 22, 1999

Omaha World-Herald June 23, 1999

Argus-Leader June 23, 1999

Argus-Leader June 27, 1999

WANTED: David Allen Bonness (Nuse)

On December 20, 2008, a 17-year-old girl told her mother that David Bonness was sexually assaulting her for the last 5 years in South Dakota. Based on this information authorities would bring him in for questioning and a DNA sample. He stopped the interview and was allowed to leave, He would then flee the area. The police would obtain a warrant for him finding out he allegedly fled. There is a $25,000 reward in this case. 

David is a white male and was born on February 24, 1968. He is 5'8" and 180 lbs. He has brown hair and green eyes. He is known to also go by the name David Allen Nuse. 

SOURCES:

U.S. Marshalls

Disappearance of Terry Joseph Good Voice Elk

Photo of him at 16-years-old

On November 14, 1991, 27-year-old  Terry Good Voice Elk was last seen in Rapid City, South Dakota. He may go by Terry Waters. There is little information in this case. 

Terry is a Native American male and was 27 years old at the time. He is between 5'7" and 5'9" and between 180 to 190lbs. He has black hair and brown eyes. His right eye was injured and now is a glass eye . He has scars on his legs, wrists and abdomen. He typically wore sunglasses due to his eye and usually had a backpack and a wallet with a chain. He was last seen wearing black steel-toe boots and an earring in his left ear.

SOURCES:

NamUs

Justice For Native Women

South Dakota Attorney General

 

Disappearance of Delema Lou "Babe" Sits Poor

Sometime in Feb. 1974 12-year-old Delema "Babe" Sits Poor was walking a back road from Oglala to Manderson near the Red Cloud Indian School on the Pine Ridge, South Dakota. She never arrived at where she was going. At the time temperatures were below zero. It's unknown what had happened to her.

Delema is a Native American female and was 12 at the time. She's 5'5" and 135 lbs. SHe has brown hair and brown eyes.

SOURCES:

NamUs

Charley Project

Argus-Leader

July 31, 1976 Pierre, South Dakota Jason Doe

On July 31, 1976, the body of a man was seen floating in the Missouri River near a campsite East of Pierre, South Dakota. He had died days before. He is a white male and was 30 to 50 years old. He was 5'5" and around 145 lbs. He has strawberry blonde hair and a receding hairline and has grey eyes.

He was wearing a J Alwes and Sons wester suit (Billings, Montana)- Whilmanhatton size 16 1/2 shirt, a 32x29 brown Hart Shaeffer trousers, a 36 Hickock black belt, size 11brown ankles boots, and a gold and white belt buckle with the letter L. Initial LE reported the name Jason in the jacket,.

IMAGES:

SOURCES:
NamUs
Unidentified Wikia

February 28, 1981 Sioux Falls, South Dakota Baby Andrew Doe *Solved*

57-year-old Theresa Bentaas has been charged in this case. She was the baby's mother. She admitted she hid the pregnancy from friends and family. She had the baby alone in her apartment and abandoned the baby there. She is currently married and had other children with the father of baby Andrew. The father is not going to be charged with anything due to not knowing about the baby.

On Feb. 28, 1981, around 3:10 p.m. a newborn boy was found in a ditch about the 3/4 mile south of 26th St. and Sycamore Dr. The baby was covered with a white bed sheet with maroon flowers, a Maroon wool blanket, and a red plaid shirt.

He was abandoned alive. He was born healthy and near full-term. He was alive at least two hours after being born and died from exposure. He still had his umbilical cord attached. He had been dead for a day and 1/2 when he was found.

A woman from the community named him Andrew. She offered to pay for his funeral and fifty people attended it.

He was a Caucasian newborn. He had brown hair.

SOURCES:
NamUs
Doe Network
KSFY
Keloland Media Group

Murder of Jolene Hass

22 year old Jolene Hass grew up in Iowa. She had met A.J. Rippatoe in Ft. Dodge, Iowa. they both eventually moved to Sioux City, Iowa. This was where Jolene began to do prostitution. She was deep in drug culture and the local outlaw motorcycle gangs. She eventually became an informant that testified against many people including A.J. Rippatoe.

In 1975 Jolene was supposed to testify against several suspects in the fall of 1975. She was then moved to Sturgis where she had been beaten and raped by 3 unknown males trying to buy drugs from her. Two days after the rape they moved her to the Delroy motel in Rapid City, South Dakota. She was then going by Jolene Schutt and was working for the police department for 3 months.

On November 10, 1975 Hass was found murdered in her motel room by a a RCPD detective and DCI agent to check on their witness. She was stabbed multiple times with possibly a switchblade.The knife was not found, the  rope she was strangled with was found around her neck. The found that she eaten right before her death. They think that when she went out to eat that she may had been noticed by someone.

At first they did not reveal the nature of her death and what she had done, because they hoped someone would brag about killing a narc. At least one of the investigators believed that it was a hired killing by one of the people she was informing against.

There was one person who claimed to have murdered Hass for money, but when confronted they said they didn't. They also took a polygraph that confirmed this. Then in 1977 another suspect of this case was found buried in cornfield. He was killed by James Cowell, who was part of the El Forestos Motorcycle Gang, was prosecuted for the suspects murder along with the murder of his girlfriend and two mechanics.

 This case remains unsolved.

SOURCES:
https://www.rcgov.org/departments/police-department/investigations/unsolved-homicides-309.html
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13919791/jolene_hass_murder/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13919880/jolene_hass_murder/
http://law.justia.com/cases/iowa/supreme-court/1976/58995-0.html (Article of a case against Janice Ivory that Jolene Hass was an informant on. Case happened in 1974, but trial happened in 1976.)
http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/cold-cases-spanning-five-decades/article_12d44e06-0afd-5028-865b-fd0febca608b.html