Authorities announced Wednesday a $5,000 reward for information in a missing person case.
The Rapid City Police Department and the Bureau of Indian Affairs have partnered in an effort to locate 27-year-old Michelle Elbow Shield, police said in a release. Elbow Shield was reported missing in December 2023, having last been seen in Rapid City in October 2023.
Numerous leads have been pursued in the investigation, and the RCPD’s partnership with the BIA’s Missing and Murdered Unit has further extended the collaborative resources used in investigating Elbow Shield’s disappearance, the police department said.
The BIA’s Missing and Murdered Unit has secured $5,000 to offer as a reward for information that results in Elbow Shield’s location, and/or the identification, arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for her disappearance.
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“We know somebody out there knows what happened to Michelle,” said Capt. Christian Sigel, commander of the RCPD’s Criminal Investigations Division. “We are extremely grateful for the partnership with the BIA’s Missing and Murdered Unit, and we are confident their reward will help encourage those with information on her disappearance to come forward and help us work to locate her.”
Anyone with any information about Elbow Shield’s whereabouts, or the circumstances of her disappearance, should contact RCPD Detectives Mackenzie Armstrong or Andrew Randazzo at 605-394-4134, or BIA MMU Special Agent Savannah Peterson at 505-221-0974. An anonymous tip can also be submitted by texting the letters ‘RCPD’ to 847411.
PHOTOS: A trip to the Black Hills
Photos from Custer Peak and elsewhere in the Black Hills on Sunday, Oct. 27.
Custer Peak
A view from Custer Peak, 6,800 feet above sea level.
Custer Peak
A view from Custer Peak in the Black Hills.
Custer Peak
Clouds hang over the Black Hills on Sunday, Oct. 27.
Custer Peak
A view from Custer Peak, located about 39 miles south of Deadwood.
A trip through the Black Hills, including Custer Peak, on Sunday, Oct. 27.
Custer Peak
A strip of blue sky is visible on the horizon looking out from Custer Peak on Sunday, Oct. 27.
Black Hills
A scene from the Black Hills.
Black Hills
A trail winds through a section of the Black Hills.
Black Hills
A pair of horses graze in a meadow in the Black Hills northwest of Rapid City on Sunday, Oct. 27.
Custer Peak
Looking out from Custer Peak.
Custer Peak
A view from Custer Peak in the Black Hills.
Custer Peak
A rock formation on Custer Peak.
Black Hills
Hills are visible in the background behind a rock formation on Custer Peak.
Custer Peak Fire Lookout
According to the U.S. Forest Service, the first fire lookout on Custer Peark was built in 1911 as a small cabin on a platform. In 1916 it had …
Black Hills
In the heart of the Black Hills, northwest of Rapid City.