Authorities announced that a body discovered on Monday morning is a Montana teen who has been unaccounted for since New Year’s Day.
In a statement issued to Big Horn County News, the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office said remains belonging to Selena Not Afraid (Bell), 16, were discovered during a grid search of an area southwest from an Interstate 90 rest stop between Billings and Hardin, where she was last seen. They said foul play is not suspected in her death.
The Billings Gazette reported that Not Afraid’s body was located less than a mile from where she was last seen. The teen, who was indigenous and a citizen of the Crow Nation, reportedly attended a party in Billings the night before her disappearance.
According to the news outlet, several adults who offered the teen a ride from Billings and Hardin claimed she had walked away from the rest stop after their van broke down. An adult woman reportedly said that she and Not Afraid were waiting at the rest stop for a relative to pick them up when the teen walked toward a field and vanished.
Despite foul play not being suspected in Not Afraid’s death, Bighorn County Sheriff Lawrence Big Hair had said earlier this month that her disappearance appeared “suspicious.”
Additional details surrounding the discovery of Not Afraid’s body are unavailable at this point in time. Police said an autopsy will be conducted to determine her cause and manner of death.
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[Featured image: Selena Not Afraid (Bell)/Big Horn County Sheriff’s Department]
