BILLINGS — More than two years after a young Big Horn County girl was last seen, and nearly two months after authorities recovered a child's body from a camper on the Crow Reservation, two women have been tried and sentenced.
Crow Tribal Prosecutor David Sibley said Tuesday that Veronica Tierza Dust and Roseen Lincoln Old Crow, both 34 years old, were tried and sentenced Monday in the case of Mildred Old Crow.
Sibley said both women were found guilty of endangering the welfare of a child and custodial interference, and both were sentenced to 18 months in jail and fined $2,000.
In February, Tribal Chair Frank White Clay confirmed that 8-year-old Mildred Old Crow's body was found and recovered from a camper near Garryowen. Mildred was reported missing in November 2019, when she was 6 years old.
Dust and Lincoln Old Crow were captured as fugitives in Billings on December 23, 2020.
The Crow Tribe had issued warrants a week before their capture, stating the women “failed to produce the child. Nor was any proof of life provided.”
Sibley said both women are now in the custody of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Big Horn County Attorney Jay Harris said Tuesday the matter remains under investigation when asked if his office was considering charges against the women.
Harris said he does plan to review the tribal courtroom testimony from Monday’s trial. It was also not immediately clear if the women face possible federal charges.
- NOVEMBER 2020: FBI issues missing person alert for Montana child
- JANUARY 2021: 2 women investigated regarding missing Crow girl
- FEBRUARY 2021: Body of missing girl has been recovered
