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#byefelicia
They had said her body was found but now they are saying it wasnt
Montana teacher Sherry Arnold missing, searchers find shoe
Jan 9 2012
CBS/AP) BILLINGS, Mont. - High school math teacher Sherry Arnold went for a run in her northeast Montana hometown early Saturday morning and has not been seen since.
According to CBS affiliate KTVQ, a massive search Saturday turned up a shoe authorities say she was last seen wearing near one of her regular routes. On Sunday, hundreds of volunteers, National Guard troops, several aircraft and three dog teams continued the search, to no avail.
"We're covering residential, we're covering rural, we're covering everything, looking underneath everything and just trying to see if we can find some sort of clues. We spent about four hours out and on the way back on the bus, it was complete silence. There was no talking because nothing was found," Sidney resident Libby Berndt told KTVQ.
Arnold, 43, has taught math in Sidney, Mont., for 18 years. She was reportedly last seen around 6:30 a.m. Saturday, wearing a blue sweatshirt with a white stripe, red nylon pants with black leggings
[...]
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_...-missing-searchers-find-shoe/?tag=mncol;lst;1

FBI joins search for missing Montanta teacher Sherry Arnold, will look one more day
jan 10 2012
CBS/KTVQ/AP) SIDNEY, Mont. - The FBI has joined the search for missing Montana teacher Sherry Arnold. An FBI spokesperson says because of the abduction potential and the proximity of North Dakota, agents are on the ground in Sidney.
CBS affiliate KTVQ reports the search for Arnold is in its third day. A small team of law enforcement officers and firefighters combed rural areas outside the town, trying to uncover clues as to what happened.
Authorities say they will search one more day for the 43-year-old Arnold, who left her home for a pre-dawn run and never returned.
A single shoe in a ditch is all that's been found of her since Saturday morning.
Sidney Mayor Bret Smelser says search teams Tuesday will re-canvass surrounding areas, looking for any more clues. After that, searches will be based on leads developed by police and FBI agents.
MSNBC reports no solid evidence has emerged to indicate that she was kidnapped, authorities said.
"It's just been grueling," said Arnold's father, Ron Whited, who runs a ranch outside of Sidney. "When you can't find someone and you do find a shoe and you know that's where she was running, something obviously wasn't right. I can tell you I would never believe I would be looking for my daughter."
Snow and rain is expected Tuesday and temperatures are expected to drop into the teens overnight.
Hundreds of volunteers have helped in the search for the missing teacher. Sherry's older sister Rhonda Whited Rupp says her family is still in shock over her sister's disappearance in the small, tight-knit community.
Sherry and her husband, Gary Arnold, had five children from previous marriages, including two still living at home and attending Sidney High School, Whited said. Colleagues described her as a devoted teacher.
[...]
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_...rnold-will-look-one-more-day/?tag=mncol;lst;2

Missing Mont. teacher Sherry Arnold's body found
Jan 12 2012
CBS/AP) HELENA, Mont. - The body of Montana math teacher Sherry Arnold has been found, and the FBI said Friday it had one man in custody in connection with her disappearance.
Arnold, 43, has been missing since January 7th, when she left her house for a run. The only clue to her disappearance that had been publicly released was that one of her shoes was found along her running route.
Sidney Public School officials posted a statement online saying they learned of Sherry Arnold's death Friday morning. No further information was made available.
CBS affiliate KLXH reports that the FBI released the following statement:
"Based on a tip from the public, law enforcement took one adult male into custody, and another adult male is being questioned by police. The investigation to determine what happened to Ms. Arnold continues."
[...]
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_...+CBSNewsTravelGuru+(Travel+Guru:+CBSNews.com)

Authorities say missing Montana teacher is dead; Man arrested in ND, another questioned in SD
jAN 14 2012
Sidney police Chief Frank DiFonzo said a 47-year-old man is in custody in the Williams County jail in North Dakota while a 22-year-old man is being questioned in Rapid City, S.D. He did not identify them and declined to answer any questions about the investigation.
Sidney Public School officials posted a statement online saying they learned of Sherry Arnold's death Friday morning. The statement did not provide details.
"I think we are starting to find some closure in the whole deal," Sidney Mayor Bret Smelser said. "The news is not good, and as far as I know we don't have a body yet."
FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson, of Salt Lake City, said a tip from the public led to the two men. The FBI hasn't confirmed Arnold's death.
The popular 43-year-old math teacher from the oil boom town of Sidney near the North Dakota border had been missing since last Saturday morning. The only clue to her disappearance that had been publicly released was that one of her shoes was found along her running route.
Authorities had been investigating the possibility Arnold was abducted.
Karen Arnold Truax of St. Paul, Minn., the daughter of Sherry Arnold's husband, Gary, told The Billings Gazette the family wants some privacy and "time to process what has happened."
"We appreciate everything that everyone did to help us in this search. We are so heartbroken that this is the outcome," Truax said. "We just sincerely appreciate all the love and support that continues to come from the community."
[...]
http://www.newser.com/article/d9s8b...-arrested-in-nd-another-questioned-in-sd.html
ne97gh.jpg

Sidney Police Chief Frank DiFonzo, right, and Sheriff Brad
Baisch address the news media on Friday to announce that a
47-year-old man has been taken into custody in Williston, N.D., in
connection with the disappearance Sidney high school teacher Sherry
Arnold, 43, who went missing Jan. 7 during a morning run.​
http://billingsgazette.com/news/sta...022-5f3b-b512-11c1a28d407f.html#ixzz1jZXVSnmV
n5fmf7.jpg
Sherry Arnold​
2 men charged with kidnapping in teacher's death held in Williston
jAN 15 2012
http://billingsgazette.com/news/sta...022-5f3b-b512-11c1a28d407f.html#ixzz1jZXk6EWE
 
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FBI seeks help finding Montana teacher's body
SIDNEY, Mont. (AP) – The FBI is asking property owners in parts of North Dakota and Montana to check vacant farmsteads for signs of disturbed soil where the agency says a missing Montana teacher might be buried
Earlier Sunday, authorities released the names of two Parachute, Colo., men being held in a North Dakota jail in connection with the Jan. 7 disappearance of 43-year-old Sherry Arnold of Sidney, Mont.

The FBI issued a statement late Sunday saying Arnold's body might be buried in an area with a line of mature or rotted trees, and the surrounding grass might be matted.
[...]
The agency requests that North Dakota property owners in Williams, McKenzie and Mountrail counties, and in extreme northeastern Montana, check such areas.

Authorities say 47-year-old Lester Vann Waters Jr. and 22-year-old Michael Keith Spell are in the Williams County Correctional Center in Williston, N.D., awaiting extradition to Montana.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation...tion-TopStories+(News+-+Nation+-+Top+Stories)
 
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Was killed teacher Sherry Arnold abducted and murdered by men who fled to Dakota?

The Montana math teacher who was found dead today may have been abducted and murdered by men who fled to Dakota.
The FBI have been investigating the possibility that Sherry Arnold, 43, was snatched when she disappeared last weekend and taken out of state
.
Police said two men in the Dakotas had been detained for questioning in connection with her death.
Mrs Arnold who has five children with her husband - two of her own, had been missing since January 7th when she left her house for a pre-dawn jog.
The only clue to her disappearance that was publicly released was that one of her shoes was found along her running route, near her home in the oil boom town of Sidney near the North Dakota border.
Sidney Public School officials posted a statement online saying they learned of Mrs Arnold's death Friday morning. No further information was available.
FBI Special Agent David J. Johnson, of Salt Lake City, said a tip from the public led to the two men.
Frank DiFonzo, Sidney Chief of Police, told old KFYR-TV: 'Dozens and dozens of tips were called into the tip line by residents of the area. Today as a result of a tip, we are able to announce that a significant breakthrough has occurred.'
Mr DiFonzo said police arrested a man, 47, in Williston and he's being held in the Williams County Jail. Police in South Dakota are also detaining a man, 22, in Rapid City for questioning.
Karen Arnold Truax of St. Paul, Minn., the daughter of Sherry Arnold's husband, Gary, told The Billings Gazette the family wants some privacy and 'time to process what has happened.'
She said: 'We appreciate everything that everyone did to help us in this search. We are so heartbroken that this is the outcome.
[...]
Only yesterday the victim's husband, Gary Arnold, told HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell that he was hopeful that his wife would be found alive.
He said the disappearance had been 'very difficult' on the couple's children, though they had been trying to stay positive.
Mr Arnold said: 'Their mother has raised them well. They are troopers, they are hanging in there.'
Matthew Brenner, a senior at the University of Montana, grew up in Sidney and was taught by Mrs Arnold said she was a well-loved woman who was a great teacher and a fixture of the town.
He told KAJ18.com: 'It's a shock to me and a shock to them. I don't even know how to begin to try and start school again, but I can tell you this, she was one of the most respected people in that school system. It's gonna be rough.'
Donna Brown, resident of Sidney, told KFYR-TV: '[It's] very, very sad. Very upsetting.
'I`m thankful for the community and the family that they did find her. That there can be some closure.'
Sidney Public Schools said that 'additional counselors were on hand' to help students cope with the news.
Hundreds of residents, police, firefighters and others combed the town and surrounding countryside earlier this week. The school district played an active role in the search by lending buses to transport members of search teams and setting up a fund to defer expenses.
[...]
The disappearance rocked the small town of Sidney, population around 5,000, and located about 100 miles south of the Canadian border - which has been changing rapidly in recent years due to an oil boom.
Christine Mullen, 26, who joined the search effort, even though she didn't know Mrs Arnold told CNN: 'We're such a small community, and crime is absolutely unheard of. We don't lock our car doors. (We're) completely shocked.'
Debbie Dujanovic Bertram, an FBI spokeswoman, told FoxNews.com that investigators are 'looking into all angles'.

Mrs Arnold grew up on a ranch outside Sidney. Her husband also worked for the school and the couple have five children from prior marriages, including two living at home and attending the same school where their mother worked for the past 18 years.
Mr and Mrs Arnold had a mixed family that included at least two children born to her and other children from before their marriage.
Mayor Bret Smelser said the search had covered all of Sidney and surrounding areas of Richland County.
He said federal agents had met with family members, including Arnold's parents, Ron and Sherry Whited, and pledged to press hard for answers.

'The promise they made Ron and Sherry was that they wouldn't give up until they had found something or found Sherry,' Smelser said.
The Mayor, who attends church with Arnold's parents, said she is 'a daughter of the community' whose disappearance brought out the best in hundreds of residents from Sidney and surrounding towns who have participated in the search.
School superintendent Daniel Farr said Arnold was a mother and devoted algebra teacher who has taught in the Sidney system for 18 years.
'She's one of those teachers that every parent wants in front of their child,' said Mr Farr. 'She's there early in the mornings and she's there after school. She is just a generous and caring person.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...r-abducted-men-fled-Dakota.html#ixzz1jaaCZQQe

23u3146.jpg
Clue: Sherry Arnold's shoe, left, was found on her running route. Her husband Gary Arnold, also an employee of the school, right, said the last time her heard from her was when she left to go running last weekend​
2afg86h.jpg

2rr86ep.jpg
Id like to know where the info her body was found came from
 
I am waiting for the boom to go bust. It's changing our state, and not for the better.

Rent in Williston North Dakota on a one bedroom apartment is MORE THAN my cousin's rent for a three bedroom ON HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD. IN HOLLYWOOD.

Sidney and Willston are really close to each other, about 45 miles away from each other. To North Dakotans, that's nothing. My dad drives 44 mile to work, and then 44 miles back. It's quite common, actually.
 
My daughter and her family live in Sidney. Her and her husband were part of several search parties.

It is hoped that it was a hit and run and the guys freaked out and did something with the body. Rumor has it that one of the men has a previous arrest for hit-n-run causing injury. No confirmation on that.

Both men are from the Parachute, Colorado area. It's probably a safe bet that they worked in the oil fields but that's not been confirmed either.

Since she dissapeared, there has been a light dusting of snow winch would make any search more difficult.

Sherry and her husband both teach at the local high school. Between the two of them, they have 5 kids.

The FBI on Sunday asked landowners in parts of Montana and North Dakota to check for possible burial sites in a search for a missing teacher and authorities identified two men they are holding in connection with her disappearance.

Lester Vann Waters, 47, and Michael Keith Spell, 22, of Parachute, Colorado, were detained after a tip to a hotline set up by authorities, police said. They are charged with aggravated kidnapping.
[...]

The FBI asked landowners in the northeastern corner of Montana and in three rural counties of northwestern North Dakota to report disturbed soil along tree rows -- or shelter belts -- because Arnold "may be buried in a shelter belt that contains mature or rotted trees," according to the statement.
[...]

Bret Smelser, the mayor of Sidney, a town of 5,000 people on the upper Missouri River, said stepped-up oil and gas production from hydraulic fracturing has brought more people and economic activity to the community, as well as crime.

Firearms sales and permits to carry concealed handguns were on the rise in the aftermath of Arnold's suspected abduction, Smelser said.
[...]

The FBI said the search for Arnold's remains centers on far northeastern Montana near Sidney and Williams, McKenzie and Mountrail counties in North Dakota.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46006427/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/#.TxOgXPl1440
 
FBI says Mont. teacher’s body might be buried
Authorities investigating the reported death of a Montana school teacher asked landowners in parts of Montana and North Dakota to check vacant farmsteads for signs of disturbed soil or matted grass, saying her body might be buried at such a site.
[...]
Lester Vann Waters Jr., 47, and Michael Keith Spell, 22, both of Parachute, Colo., were in the Williams County Correctional Center in Williston, N.D., awaiting extradition to Montana, authorities said.
The FBI issued a statement late Sunday saying the body of the Sidney, Mont., woman might be buried in a “shelter belt,â€￾ or a line of trees that protects soil from the wind.
The agency asked that property owners in three North Dakota counties — Williams, McKenzie and Mountrail — and in extreme northeastern Montana check vacant farmsteads for signs of disturbed soil or matted grass. Landowners who discover something unusual should not disturb the area, but call authorities, the FBI said
Based on investigative evidence gathered over the last few days, it is believed that Ms. Arnold may be deceased,â€￾ FBI spokeswoman Debbie Bertram said in a statement. “Her body has not been recovered.â€￾
Williams County Sheriff’s Deputy Jon Garrison said Walters and Spell face aggravated kidnapping charges in Montana.
[..]
Court records show Spell was arrested in Colorado in May 2007 on state charges of drug possession, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and sexual contact without consent, but the charges were dropped five months later. The records do not state the reason.[/B]Spell also faced charges of careless driving and driving without a license in 2007, but that case also was dropped.
The Williston jail is about 46 miles from Sidney, where officials say Arnold disappeared while on an early-morning run along a truck route on the edge of the oil boom town of more than 5,500 residents.

[...]
The only clue that has been publicly released was that one of Arnold’s shoes was found along her running route.
[...]
Sherry Arnold’s disappearance has taken a toll on the town, and “it’s not over,â€￾ Sidney Mayor Bret Smelser said Sunday.
“We’re angry. We’re frustrated,â€￾ Smelser told The Associated Press. “But our concern is with Sherry’s family and friends. And whatever support we can give to get them through this, that’s what we’ll do.â€￾
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news...be-buried/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
 
t3nJaek.jpg


From the "rumor mill": The men were supposedly NOT working in the oil fields as part of the boom. They had been in town for a few weeks and were selling frozen meat out of a truck.

If true, that is almost scarier. We get door-to-door meat sellers on occasion. I'm never going to be answering the door again if I don't recognize the vehicle or see the FedEx truck.
 
t3nJaek.jpg


From the "rumor mill": The men were supposedly NOT working in the oil fields as part of the boom. They had been in town for a few weeks and were selling frozen meat out of a truck.

If true, that is almost scarier. We get door-to-door meat sellers on occasion. I'm never going to be answering the door again if I don't recognize the vehicle or see the FedEx truck.

lol Ive never seen anyone selling meat door to door here
In fact the only thing I have come to my door aside from bible thumpers I tell I worship satan
are hydro guys trying to sell cheaper hydro and gas that doesnt exists
And none can read b/c they see signs on gatre and house both saying "No Solicitors Allowed'
freaky looking guys
 
Okay! Im laughing hysterically at their mugshots. ONLY in ND would the height chart be drawn on the wall in sharpie!
What the hell is wrong with Spell's face? It looks like it leans to one side after the nose starts!

My theory is much worse than hit and run though.
 
NewsChannel 5 spoke to a family member of Spell who was not comfortable having his name published, but he tells us he thinks Spell was threatened by Waters.

"He [Spell] was going up there to work with this guy and came to find out the guy threatened Michael, my brother, that if he didn't do what he said and everything, he would come back and kill his little baby and his wife," he said.

The family member said he couldn't elaborate on exactly what Spell was threatened to do.

Montana and North Dakota authorities released little information about the case because they don't want to jeopardize the investigation.
http://www.krextv.com/news/around-t...-Aggravated-Kidnapping-Charges-137449343.html

As we say around these parts "Yah shure Ubetcha". That sure beats telling your brother that you are an intentional kidnapper and murderer.
 
ONLY in ND would the height chart be drawn on the wall in sharpie!

Thank you for pointing that out!

As for the face, I think he must have a lazy eye. My eyebrows do what his do......
 
He's just got his head cocked, one eyebrow cocked, and possibly his nose has been broken before, but can't rule out it just being shadow from his head tilt.

A runner along a country road in predawn light? My money is on them having struck her accidentally and then hiding the body. Not that worse things don't happen, but it just seems most likely.

And I figure the finding the body confusion was the result of a misinterpretation by the press - cops announce she's dead, press assumes the announcement must be because her body was found, naturally.
 
He's just got his head cocked, one eyebrow cocked, and possibly his nose has been broken before, but can't rule out it just being shadow from his head tilt.

A runner along a country road in predawn light? My money is on them having struck her accidentally and then hiding the body. Not that worse things don't happen, but it just seems most likely.

And I figure the finding the body confusion was the result of a misinterpretation by the press - cops announce she's dead, press assumes the announcement must be because her body was found, naturally.

No, with ND what starts out as a rumor usually winds up in the local news. Happens all the time.

And if they just hit her accidentally... why take her across state lines? Why risk having a dead body in your vehicle for 40+ miles when they could have just put her body in the ditch right then and there and took off and no one would be the wiser?
 
Six days after two men were arrested in the disappearance of Sidney math teacher Sherry Arnold, authorities remain silent on what evidence links the men to her abduction and apparent murder.
[...]

The first legal document filed in the case came on Jan. 17 in Sidney City Court, four days after the men's arrest. Sidney Deputy Police Chief Robert Burnison filled out citations for Waters and Spell to appear in city court on the felony charge, which carries the death penalty.

The form citations, usually used for traffic tickets or other municipal infractions, provide a location of the alleged crime -- 900 East Holly St. -- and the Montana criminal code number for aggravated kidnapping. The forms do not include any information related to evidence that supports the charges, known as "probable cause."

The documents order Waters and Spell to appear before Sidney City Judge Gregory Mohr on Jan. 24 at 2 p.m. That court date is likely to change.
[...]

Because the men did not waive extradition at that hearing, it could take 30 days or more before a decision is made on whether North Dakota should turn them over to Montana law enforcement. The process could take even longer if Montana authorities ask for more time.
[...]

Richland County Attorney Mike Weber said Wednesday that the next step is for the criminal case to be filed in District Court.

"When we file in District Court, then there will be a lot more information," he said.

Meanwhile, it's unclear what influence federal authorities may be exerting in the case because of the FBI's involvement in the investigation and the possibility that Waters and Spell could eventually be prosecuted in federal court.

If Arnold's body is found outside Montana, the case could fall within federal jurisdiction.
http://bismarcktribune.com/news/sta...cle_53612d5e-4218-11e1-a124-001871e3ce6c.html

They were formally charged Tuesday in Sidney with aggravated kidnapping, which carries a maximum penalty of death under state law. Authorities accused them of taking Arnold from a Sidney street minutes after the high-school math teacher left home at 6:30 a.m. Jan. 7.

One of her running shoes was found several hours later; nothing else has been reported found. The FBI, the lead investigating agency in the case, believes she is dead, according to spokesperson Deborah Bertram.

Some have wondered if Arnold could have been hit by a vehicle during her pre-dawn run, but that’s not what authorities think.

Under Montana law, the charge of aggravated kidnapping implies the victim was alive when kidnapped
, Mike Weber, Richland County attorney in Sidney, told the Herald.
http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/226961/group/homepage/
 
Folks in Sidney, Mont., used to leave their doors unlocked, knowing the worst crimes were usually bar fights. The last murder was 33 years ago.

But that small-town sense of security during what has been a regional economic boom vanished on Jan. 7, when Sherry Arnold, a 43-year-old high school math teacher – the great-granddaughter of the city's first police chief – went jogging before dawn.
[...]

Family members have been told that one of the men has confessed to killing Arnold, but they're still desperately waiting to hear how and why.

Many in the city have been quick to blame the crime on a regional boom in oilfield jobs that has drawn outsiders as if it were the California Gold Rush. It's turned the parking lot outside the Williston, N.D., Walmart into a makeshift homeless camp of wall-to-wall trailers.

Sidney schools superintendent Dan Farr, himself a former oilfield roustabout, cautions that residents shouldn't rush to judgment against the oil workers.

He notes that authorities haven't yet revealed what may have drawn the two men to Sidney, or how they allegedly crossed paths with Arnold. Court records only indicate that they committed the alleged kidnapping at 6:40 a.m. on Jan. 7 near 900 E. Holly St. in Sidney – the approximate location where Arnold's sneaker was discovered.
[...]
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20562743,00.html

The two men charged with kidnapping Sherry Arnold from a Sidney, Mont., street Jan. 7 apparently had just arrived in the Williston (N.D.) Basin, according to information from a court in Colorado where the men are from.

Leslie Waters Jr., 47, and Michael Spell, 22, remain in a Williston jail, fighting extradition to face aggravated kidnapping charges, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of death in Montana.
[...]

He has told reporters that Waters and Spell, unfamiliar with the region, may not know which state they were in when they allegedly buried Arnold’s body.

A district court official in Garfield County, Colo., said Thursday, citing court documents, that Spell got permission to leave the state from a county district judge at 12:30 p.m. MST on Jan. 5.

Spell was facing an arraignment on a felony charge of soliciting a minor to help him sell marijuana to young school children via cell phone text messages. Through his court-appointed attorney, Tina Fang, Spell told the judge on Jan. 5 he needed to go to Texas because his brother had been in an accident there.
[...]

Forty-hours after the judge’s permission, around 6:30 a.m. on Jan. 7, Arnold left her Sidney home for a run. Within 10 minutes, when the 43-year-old math teacher was on Holly Street, she was kidnapped from Holly Street by Waters and Spell, Richland County Attorney Mike Weber said.
[...]

An obvious route from Parachute to Sidney would involve driving north, passing through Casper, Wyo., and Miles City, Mont. That involves about 760 miles and about 13 hours of driving.

Sidney is 45 miles southwest of Williston, only five miles from the North Dakota line.
[...]
http://www.parkrapidsenterprise.com/event/article/id/31237/group/homepage/
 
Waters and Spell were extradited to Montana. They appeared in court there and documents filed that reveal more info. Sherry's body has still not been found.

ovVpitT.jpg
k32RmzI.jpg

• On or about Jan. 7, 2012, Waters and Spell restrained Arnold by forcing her to remain in a green Ford Explorer after Spell had grabbed her and forced her into the vehicle on or near Holly Street.

• A tipster reported to law enforcement on Jan. 11 that Angel Cruz said her boyfriend, Spell, was stranded in North Dakota and was attempting to obtain money to get a bus ticket home. Cruz lives with Spell’s parents in Parachute, Colo. The tipster advised that Spell and another man, Waters, left Parachute on Jan. 4 to look for work in the oil fields near Williston, N.D. Cruz reportedly said Spell told her that he and Waters were high on drugs and driving around when they picked up a woman walking along the road, killed her and buried her. Spell told her that he was afraid of Waters, had gotten away from him but was now stranded.

• On Jan. 12, Cruz told the FBI that Spell was now in Rapid City, S.D. She said Spell told her that Waters made him smoke crack cocaine while driving to North Dakota. Cruz said Spell told her Waters made Spell bury the female’s body.

• Also on Jan. 12, Williston police located a 1993 Ford Explorer being driven by Waters. He was advised he was being detained for questioning regarding a homicide investigation,

• An inventory of Waters’ personal belongings included a receipt from Walmart in Williston for bread, bologna and a shovel.

• On Jan. 13, the FBI located and interviewed Spell in Rapid City, S.D. He confessed to the agents that he and Waters abducted Arnold while she was jogging and killed her. He expressed his desire to help locate the body. Spell said Waters was smoking crack cocaine during the entire trip, and that Waters began talking about kidnapping and killing a female.

• Spell said Waters was driving through a town when they saw a woman running along the road. He said Waters identified the female as a person to kidnap. Waters drove down the road where the female was jogging and turned around and parked on the side of the road as the female approached. Spell said Waters told him to grab the lady and pull her into the Explorer as she jogged by the vehicle.

• Spell said he got out of the Explorer and grabbed the female and forced her into the vehicle. He said the woman struggled and her shoe fell off.

• Spell said Waters got into the back seat with the female and “choked her out.” Spell said Waters told him he would kill Spell and his family if Spell ever told anyone what happened.

• Spell said they drove to a truck stop near the Walmart in Williston while the female lay dead inside the vehicle and under a blanket. They threw her clothing into a dumpster by the truck stop.

• Spell said he and Waters drove to a rural area outside of Williston and dropped off the body. The two then returned to Williston and purchased a shovel at Walmart. The two returned to the female’s body, and Spell said Waters made him dig a hole two or three feet deep and then put the body in the hole.
http://www.sidneyherald.com/articles/2012/02/17/news/breaking_news/doc4f3ee8b8ee856340534598.txt

Court document: http://www.sidneyherald.com/file_library/court_documents.pdf


A comment on the article brings up an interesting point: If the left her body, went and bought a shovel, and returned to bury her, how can they NOT know where the body is?
 
Family and friends of one of the two suspects in a brutal Montana kidnapping described him as an illiterate young father who was eager for work when he fell under the sway of a convicted criminal promising lucrative employment in the Bakken oil fields.

Michael Keith Spell, 22 and Lester Van Waters Jr., 47, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to one count each of aggravated kidnapping during an arraignment in state district court in Arnold's hometown of Sidney, near the North Dakota border.
[...]

Wearing orange-striped prison garb and handcuffs, Spell and Waters said little during Tuesday's brief hearings. However, when Spell was asked if he had read the charging documents in the case, he replied, "No, ma'am. I can't read, but I have been informed."

State district Judge Katherine Irigoin set separate trial dates for the two men beginning in July. She told the defendants they could face the death penalty under Montana law if convicted.
[...]

Spell's father, Harry, told The Associated Press that his son had travelled with Waters to the Bakken oil fields of Montana and North Dakota after Waters guaranteed work paying up to $2,000 a week.

Harry Spell said his son was anxious to prove himself to his parents and girlfriend Angel Cruz, with whom he has a 1-year-old son.

Michael Spell had found past work in the oil fields near Parachute and on a fire damage cleanup crew, but was unable to keep the jobs "because he didn't quite understand what to do," Harry Spell said.

"He might be 22 years old, but he has an education less than a kindergartner," Harry Spell said.

Authorities suggested Tuesday that may be a factor in the failure so far to locate Arnold's body. Sheriff Scott Busching of North Dakota's Williams County said investigators have taken Michael Spell out to find where Arnold is buried, but he has been unable to find the spot.

He has no concept of time or distance so he couldn't tell us how far he was from town (when Arnold was buried) and he couldn't even tell us if he was in the state," Busching said. "I think he's trying to help but doesn't really know how."
[...]

Michael Spell met Waters about a year ago. Waters had come to Colorado in the months after his release from prison in Florida, and moved into an apartment complex on a bluff overlooking the Colorado River in the bluish grey mesas of the Grand Valley in western Colorado, according to interviews with friends and family.

Chadwick McConnell, 25, a distant cousin of Michael Spell, said Waters started a conversation with one of his friends at the complex and offered him work as a roofer. With jobs in the nearby gas and oil fields more difficult to get, McConnell said he and three others, Spell included, jumped at the chance to get paid in cash.

But working with Waters proved difficult. He would often tell McConnell, Spell and other workers to be at a location at 7 a.m., then not show up until around noon, failing to answer his cellphone.

"He's the kind of guy who'd talk to you and make you believe he's your friend," McConnell said. "But he won't live up to any of the things he says."

Waters told Michael Spell the jobs in the oil fields in North Dakota were a sure thing, Harry Spell and Cruz said. Waters also tried to recruit another man to travel with them but he declined.

Spell "was going down there for work, and he was going to be making money to support us," Cruz said. "He didn't know there was nothing down there."

When Spell left Colorado, he was awaiting arraignment on charges that he encouraged a middle school student to text other students and ask them if they wanted to buy marijuana. He reportedly told the judge in the case his brother had been in a car accident in Texas.

Barry and Nadine McConnell, the parents of Angel Cruz, described Spell as a person who wants to be helpful.

But getting a straight story out of him was always difficult, Barry McConnell said, especially when they asked him whether he would get a job to help support his son.

"He would talk in riddles," Barry McConnell said, adding that at some point they stopped believing anything he said.
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/ar...mised-work?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage
 
Zero sympathy here. Imagine going out for your morning jog and 10 minutes later, you're being kidnapped, then murdered and buried in a shallow grave that they can't even be bothered to remember where the hell it is. I don't care if he can't read. Come on, even a kindergarten kid knows how to say NO. If you're being threatened, tell someone. Don't wait until you're up to your ass in trouble to start whining about how you were FORCED to do stuff.
 
A state judge in Glendive, Mont., has accepted jurisdiction in the aggravated-kidnapping cases against two Colorado men accused of abducting and killing Sidney, Mont., schoolteacher Sherry Arnold.

In an order filed Wednesday, District Judge Richard Simonton assumed the cases against Lester Van Waters Jr. and Michael Keith Spell.

Simonton agreed to preside over the criminal cases at the request of Judge Katherine Irigoin, who was asked to remove herself from the case by defense attorneys.

Attorneys can make a single request for a new judge in a criminal case without stating a reason. That step was taken by public defenders Randi Hood and Cynthia Thornton last week when their clients were arraigned. Thornton represents Waters, and Hood represents Spell.

Irigoin and Simonton are the only two district court judges serving in the judicial district that covers the counties of Richland, Dawson, McCone, Prairie and Wibaux.



http://bismarcktribune.com/news/sta...cle_ade17a4c-692b-11e1-8f2f-0019bb2963f4.html
 
My local news station is saying they have found the body of Sherry Arnold. That's it as far as information. When more is posted, I'll post again.
 
Authorities said Wednesday they believe a body found outside Williston, N.D., is that of a missing Sidney, Mont., school teacher who disappeared Jan. 7 during a morning run.

Montana authorities released a statement saying they're trying to confirm that the remains are those of Sherry Arnold, 43.

An FBI team started to recover the body on Tuesday near Williston, which is in western North Dakota and about 50 miles from Sidney, where Arnold taught high school math.
[...]
http://ktar.com/509/1484995/Mont-teachers-body-likely-found-in-North-Dakota
 
BILLINGS - Federal and multi-state law enforcement officers have recovered a body believed to be that of missing Sidney teacher Sherry Arnold.

The body was found east of Williston, North Dakota on Tuesday, more than two months after Arnold went missing. On Wednesday morning, the body was flown to the State Medical Examiner's Office in Montana where it will be examined and positively identified.

Arnold, 43, went for a jog at about 6:30 a.m. on Jan. 7 in Sidney and never returned home.

Two Colorado men are being held in connection with her disappearance. Lester Waters Jr., 47, and Michael Spell, 22, are behind bars in the Richland County Jail awaiting trial.

In court documents, Spell confessed the men were high on crack when they came through Sidney on their way to the oil fields of North Dakota. Spell says Waters wanted to kidnap and kill a female. The two spotted Sherry jogging along Ninth Ave., commonly known as the Truck Route, and Spell grabbed her and pulled her into their vehicle, according to court documents. Spell told authorities Waters got in the back seat and "choked her out."

According to the report, Spell says Waters told him he would kill Spell and his family if Spell ever told anyone what happened.

The two then drove across state lines to Williston, North Dakota. Spell told authorities that they threw Arnold's clothing in a Dumpster at Lonnie's Truck Stop across the street from Walmart in Williston.

Spell said he and Waters drove to a rural area outside of Williston and dropped off Arnold's body. The two then reportedly returned to Williston and purchased a shovel at Walmart. The two returned to the body, and Spell said Waters made him dig a hole two or three feet deep, and then they placed the her body in the hole. Spell said the grave site was at the end of a shelter belt on an old farmstead in a rural, isolated area outside of Williston.

The recovery and investigation was a collaboration between the FBI, Williams County Sheriff's Office, Williston Police Department, Richland County Sheriff's Office and Sidney Police Department.

http://www.ktvq.com/news/body-of-missing-montana-teacher-sherry-arnold-found/


I'm glad these idiots were dumb enough to dump her in ND. The case now becomes federal and they will be facing the death penalty.
 
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I'm glad these idiots were dumb enough to dump her in ND. The case now becomes federal and they will be facing the death penalty.
Somehow it feels wrong to do a happy dance that they found her and across state lines... but I'm doing it anyway!

They already faced the DP in MT for the kidnapping charge but this should solidify it. And federal DP is swifter in coming than state cases.

I wonder how "retarded" Spell is? They don't execute retarded folks. Rumors from the jail are that he's not all there.
 
As expected:
A body found in North Dakota was identified Thursday as a missing Montana teacher kidnapped in January.

The identification was made after the body of 43-year-old Sherry Arnold was taken to the Montana State Crime Lab in Missoula.
[...]
It's not clear what led authorities to that location, although one of the suspects in the case had apparently tried to lead FBI agents to the site in past weeks but failed.

The discovery of the remains across state lines from where the kidnapping took place means federal charges could be filed against Spell and Waters.
http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/state/article_39b94faa-7443-11e1-8dda-001871e3ce6c.html
 
Two men accused of abducting and killing Sidney school teacher Sherry Arnold have been charged with murder, and prosecutors filed a court notice indicating their intent to seek the death penalty against both men.

The amended charges and death penalty notice were filed Friday in Richland County District Court against Michael Keith Spell and Lester Van Waters Jr., who are accused of abducting and killing the 43-year-old Arnold during her morning jog on Jan. 7.
[...]

In previous court records, authorities allege that Spell confessed to grabbing Arnold as she was jogging, dragging her back to the vehicle where, he said, Waters choked the woman to death.

In the new court records, a man named Michael Pruit told authorities Spell told him a different version of the abduction and murder. Pruit was incarcerated with Spell while both were receiving medical care at the Williams County jail in Williston, court records state.

Pruit stated Spell told him that Waters "was the instigator" in the kidnapping and told him what to do because the men were "high on drugs and Waters wanted to have sex."

Spell told Pruit that Arnold jogged past him and said, "Hi."

"Spell said he turned around and speared Sherry in the back of the head and knocked her down," court records state.

"Spell said he choked her out ... pushed Sherry's face into some water and drowned her to make sure she was dead. Spell said he picked Sherry up and carried her to the vehicle."

On March 19, Waters led FBI agents to where Sherry's body was located, the new court documents state.

After leading agents out of Williston, Waters directed the agents on to Highway 1804 "until he recognized the area where Sherry Arnold was buried."

Waters said the burial site was in a shelter belt, and eventually led agents to where her body was buried.

"Waters recognized the burial site and pointed out where the dirt from the hole was deposited," court records state. "A broken branch was resting over the hole."

Waters said Arnold had been buried on her side in the fetal position and showed the agents where they had parked the vehicle. Waters became emotional at the site, court records state.

"I didn't kill that lady," he told the agents, according to court records.
http://billingsgazette.com/news/sta...cle_ac2c46dc-ee41-5447-a321-87ebfbd89a60.html
 
BILLINGS, Mont. - The suspects in the disappearance and killing of a Montana teacher have pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted kidnapping.

Forty-eight-year-old Lester Van Waters Jr. and 23-year-old Michael Spell were arraigned Tuesday on new charges filed since the March discovery of Sherry Arnold's body in a shallow grave in North Dakota.

The two Colorado men face the death penalty if convicted on charges of deliberate homicide.

State district Judge Richard Simonton in Sidney vacated trials for the two men originally set for July. They were not immediately rescheduled.

Arnold disappeared Jan. 7 while on a morning jog in Sidney, Mont., a once-quiet boom town in the Bakken oil field.

Court documents indicate that Spell has blamed Waters for choking Arnold to death; Waters allegedly said Spell did it.

http://bismarcktribune.com/news/sta...cle_9314fb52-9ed3-11e1-989f-001a4bcf887a.html
 
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