RAPID CITY, S.D. – Rapid City police are investigating the remains of a man identified as Dakota Zaiser – a person of interest in the murder of two people last month.
Police says Zaiser was wanted for questioning in the August 24th shooting death of Charles Red Willow and Ashley Nagy at Thomson Park.
Police say the 22-year-old Zaiser was reported to have disappeared in the days following the shooting. In the time since, police had been searching for him in order to talk to him about his association with 36-year-old Arnson Absolu at the time of the shooting.
Absolu was arrested earlier this month in New York for the murders of Charles Red Willow and Nagy. He remains in custody in New York.
Police say Zaiser’s remains were located in a forested area near Sheridan Lake on September 22nd.
In a release, Rapid City police spokesman Brendyn Medina says “Information developed in the ongoing investigation into Zaiser’s disappearance led law enforcement to search a forested area north of Sheridan Lake. During the search of this location, Zaiser’s remains were located in a manner consistent with an attempt to conceal his body.”
An autopsy has been conducted, however, further forensic testing will be needed in order to determine a cause and manner of death in the investigation.
Now, police say Absolu has been identified as the primary suspect in Zaiser’s death.
Law enforcement officials are asking anyone who has information about Zaiser’s whereabouts on August 24th, or his interactions with Absolu immediately following the shootings at Thompson Park, to contact the Rapid City Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division at 394-4134.
