The Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety set up a unified command center as part of the search for three men who went missing on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota in May 2016. Officials also continue to look for another man, Alejandro "Tank" Vasquez, who went missing last October. Photo from OSTDPS / Facebook
Federal and tribal authorities say they have found no evidence of foul play in connection with the deaths of three young men on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Juan Allen LaMont, 24; Tevin Louis Tyon, 21; and Tyrell Tre Wilson, 23, went missing on May 7. Their bodies were found in a ravine on May 23, The Lakota Country Times reported, after extensive searches that included law enforcement and local volunteers. The Oglala Sioux Tribe, in conjunction with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S Attorney's Office, looked into the tragic incident. According to the results of their probe, the men died when their vehicle went over a cliff and fell into the ravine. "Autopsy results and examination of the circumstances surrounding the disappearance, and later discovery of the men, firmly establishes their deaths resulted from an automobile accident," U.S. Attorney Randolph J. Seiler said in a statement that was released on Friday.
Tevin Tyon, Juan LaMont, and Tyrell Wilson and the vehicle they were in are seen in photos that were distributed after they went missing on the Pine Ridge Reservation in May 2016. Image from Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety / Facebook
"This was a painstaking and difficult investigation for all involved," Seiler added. "Everyone involved sends their heartfelt condolences to the families of the three men on their grievous loss," he said. LaMont and Wilson were employees of the Indian Health Service, The Lakota Country Times reported in May. Tyon was a National Guard soldier who just returned from a tour of duty in the Middle East, the Native-owned paper said. His Lakota name was "Quio Kute Pi," according to his obituary All three were members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
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