Submitted photo
Rebecca Plentywounds
By Shelbie Harris, sharris@journalnet.com
FORT HALL — The family of a Fort Hall mother whose dismembered remains were found in October believes she was murdered.
Family members are seeking information regarding the death of Rebecca Plentywounds after the 35-year-old mother of seven children was found dead on Oct. 24, 2017, in a pasture near her mother’s Fort Hall residence.
Plentywounds’ mother and sister found her remains.
“My mother and little sister found her body that was dismembered and dumped in the weeds by a rundown shed on my mother’s property,” Afraidofhistracks said. “It looked like she was beaten. Her face was swelled up and it looked like she had been in a fight.”
Randy’L Teton, spokeswoman for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, said the Fort Hall Police Department is still waiting on a final autopsy report and toxicology results to determine how Plentywounds died. Teton declined to comment further on the specifics of the police investigation.
Teton’s comments to the Journal on Thursday were the first official statements released by the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in relation to the death of Plentywounds three months ago. Plentywounds’ family contacted the Journal last week about her death, prompting the newspaper to ask Teton about the case.
Criminal investigators with the Fort Hall Police Department met with Plentywounds’ family Thursday to discuss her death.
“The police are investigating but said they don’t have any suspects,” said Priscilla Monday, Plentywounds’ cousin who lives in Mountain Home.
Monday said her family is asking any members of the public who have any information on Plentywounds’ death or who saw “anything suspicious” to contact Fort Hall police at 208-238-4000.
Afraidofhistracks, who lives in Wyoming, said that before Plentywounds’ death the two frequently spoke on the phone.
“The last time I talked to her was on her birthday, which was Oct. 18,” Afraidofhistracks said.
Afraidofhistracks said she messaged Plentywounds on Oct. 20 and requested a phone call but never received one.
“Later that weekend (her) boyfriend texted me off of her phone saying that she was gone and that she had never done this before and to please help look for her,” Afraidofhistracks said.
Afraidofhistracks said that Plentywounds was in a good mood in the weeks leading up to her death because she was going to get full custody of one of her children.
“She was all excited about it and was so positive about it. She wasn’t sad at all,” Afraidofhistracks said.
Since Plentywounds’ death, Afraidofhistracks said Fort Hall police haven’t been very helpful.
“They said it was an open case and that the investigation was ongoing but that was it,” Afraidofhistracks said.
She said the horrific condition of Plentywounds’ dismembered body has caused her family to believe this is a murder case.
Afraidofhistracks said, “We think somebody killed her. She was not suicidal at all. She was just a happy upbeat person.”