Rapid City Creek Drownings: The Unexplained Deaths Along Rapid Creek
Overview
The Rapid City Creek Drownings refers to a disturbing series of deaths involving eleven men in Rapid City, South Dakota, between 1998 and December 2000. Many of the men were Native American, homeless, or living in unstable circumstances. Several were discovered in the waters of Rapid Creek, while others were found near the creek or elsewhere in Rapid City under suspicious or unexplained circumstances.
The deaths have sometimes been attributed to an unidentified serial killer or group of killers. However, no person has ever been identified, arrested, or charged as a serial offender in connection with the cases. Law enforcement investigations did not uncover physical evidence proving that a single killer caused the deaths. Some cases were officially considered accidental drownings or alcohol-related deaths, while community members continued to argue that the unusual concentration of fatalities could not reasonably be dismissed as coincidence.
The victims were particularly vulnerable. Several regularly slept beneath bridges or in makeshift camps along the creek. Many struggled with alcoholism, and some were severely intoxicated when they died. These circumstances provided a possible accidental explanation, but they also could have made the men easy targets for an attacker who understood that their deaths might receive limited scrutiny.
The First Deaths in 1998
The sequence began in May 1998 with the death of Ben Long Wolf. Long Wolf, a 36-year-old Native American man, had been sleeping beneath the Sixth Street Bridge, an area he sometimes used as shelter. His body was discovered partially upright beneath the water. Investigators believed that he had fallen asleep while heavily intoxicated and had failed to awaken as the creek rose around him.
Approximately ten days later, the body of 56-year-old George Hatton was found. Five days after that discovery, 42-year-old Allen Hough became the third man found dead during the alarming two-week period. The appearance of three bodies in such a short time was highly unusual for a creek that ordinarily accounted for approximately one death each year.
Additional unexplained deaths followed later in 1998. Royce Yellow Hawk died on November 12, 1998. Randell Two Crow was found on December 8 beneath or near the East Boulevard bridge, lying in a pool of water along the creek bank. Lauren Two Bulls was found the following day. The closeness of the discoveries intensified fears that someone might have been targeting homeless and Native American men.
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