A 20 year old man's remains are found nearly 4 months after he was last seen In the summer of 2002, a 19-year-old male, Russell Turcotte, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, embarked on a journey that would tragically be his last. A free spirit, he had traveled from his home in Wolf Point, Montana, to attend the Rainbow Family Gathering in Michigan. After the event, he began hitchhiking back, a common practice for him, with plans to attend a wedding.
On the evening of July 12, 2002, he found himself at Simonson's Gas Station in Grand Forks, North Dakota. From there, he called his mother, who promised to wire him money for a bus ticket the following morning to complete his trip home. Russell Turcotte never picked up that money.
For months, his family heard nothing. Their concern grew into a desperate search, one they felt was not given the urgency it deserved by law enforcement. The family believed the investigation was hampered by prejudice, citing a stark contrast in the resources dedicated to finding their son compared to cases involving non-Native individuals. It wasn't until November 5, 2002, that a grim discovery was made. The decomposed body of Russell Turcotte was found in a row of trees ten miles west of Devils Lake, North Dakota, about half a mile north of U.S. Highway 2. An autopsy would later reveal that he had been beaten to death.
The investigation into his homicide has spanned years without a resolution, leaving a void of answers for his grieving family. At one point, the case attracted the attention of the FBI, who explored a possible link to the convicted serial killer and sex offender, Joseph Edward Duncan III. Duncan had been living in Fargo around the time of Turcotte's disappearance. There were even reports that the FBI had evidence placing Duncan at the same Grand Forks truck stop within hours of when Turcotte was last seen. Despite this, no direct evidence ever surfaced to officially name Duncan as a suspect in the murder. The case eventually went cold, leaving the question of who was responsible for the death of Russell Turcotte unanswered.
