Clifford Lee Nelson, 49, was found shot to death in his Seeley Lake, Montana, home in the early morning hours of September 30, 1996. A 12-gauge shotgun blast killed the longtime Seeley Lake Elementary teacher, once named Montana’s Teacher of the Year in 1981, and investigators tied the shooting to vandalism that same night at Seeley-Swan High School where two windows had been shot out, prompting suspicion of a targeted attack.

Two former students, Rambo Hooser and Matt Livingston, were arrested and charged with deliberate homicide after investigators identified Hooser as holding a grudge against Nelson. Hooser went to trial, but the case against him was largely circumstantial; prosecutors could not definitively link shotgun shells found at Hooser’s residence to the murder weapon, and Hooser was acquitted. Charges against Livingston were later dropped, and no one has been convicted in Nelson’s murder.

Anyone who knew Nelson, was in Seeley Lake on or around September 30, 1996, or has information that could help the investigation is asked to come forward.