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Woman Behind Bars in Death of Girl on Montana Reservation

Kenzley Olson was found dead on Wednesday

By MATTHEW BROWN, Associated Press

BILLINGS — A woman was behind bars on a Montana Indian reservation Thursday in connection with the death of a 1-year-old girl who was reported to have been kidnapped from her home and found dead the next day.

Authorities would not release the 42-year-old woman’s name or specify the charges she faced, citing the investigation into the death of Kenzley Olson. She was expected to make her first court appearance on Montana’s Fort Peck Indian Reservation on Thursday.

The woman was taken into custody Wednesday evening, federal and local officials said. Federal charges also were anticipated, FBI spokeswoman Sandra Yi Barker said.

Details on how Kenzley died and whether the woman had any relationship with the girl have not been released. Authorities initially said Kenzley was abducted from her house in the small town of Poplar on Tuesday morning, but Barker could not confirm if that was still believed to be the case.

An Amber Alert for Kenzley went out early Wednesday and her body was found that afternoon.

Investigators also were looking to question additional people in Kenzley’s death, Roosevelt County spokesman Lee Allmer said.

“What they’re trying to accomplish with the investigation is to see if anybody else was involved. It is a general search,” he said.

The Fort Peck Reservation is home to the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes and has a population of about 10,000.

Kenzley’s death followed the February abduction of a 4-year-old girl from a public park in a reservation town about 20 miles west of Poplar. The girl was found alive several days later, and authorities said her abductor tried to kill her.

A 20-year-old man was charged in that case with kidnapping, attempted murder and aggravated sexual assault of a minor. He has pleaded not guilty.