Robert Springfield, 48, and his son 13 year old son, Colton and his adopted son, Brent Brooks, went to Black Canyon to hunt elk in the Crow Indian Reservation. This area is located in the Bighorn Mountains, in the southeast of the state of Montana.
Bugsy as he was called, and his family were members of the Crow Nation Indian Reservation, and they were hunting on ground owned by the tribe. His native American name was "Bikkaashee Iisaaakshe," and this was given to him by the late Shoshone Sundance Chief John Trujillo. He was born on December 20, 1955, in Crow Agency, to Robert Springfield Sr. and Emma.
Bugsy grew up in Lodge Grass and Wyola areas, attending grade school in Wyola and High School in Lodge Grass, where he played basketball and football. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. After boot camp in San Diego, he served at 29 Palms, California, Camp Lejuene, N.C., Australia, Japan and the Philippines. He played basketball for the Corps while stationed at Camp Lejuene. He received his honorable discharge in June 1977. He later attended and graduated from Billings Vocational Technical School in April of 1979. He worked for Sarpy Coal Mine as a diesel mechanic for three years, as a heavy equipment operator and wild lands firefighter for several years.
Bugsy married Veronica Birdin Ground in July 1979 and the couple made their home in Lodge Grass.
After a day of hunting, the two sons returned to the prearranged spot in the late afternoon where Bugsy had agreed to meet them. The children waited until after dark and still had not seen their father and so the boys informed the Bighorn County Sheriff’s Office and members of the tribe.
Bugsy was wearing heavy winter clothing and was armed with a bow and arrows the day he disappeared.
A FLIR equipped helicopter searched the area where Springfield was thought to be. The family and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) brought in sniffer dogs and horseback searchers, but nothing was found. No equipment, body, bones or blood.
Just over a year later, in October 2005 a hunter was in Black Canyon area had heard a crow screeching. The bird was loud and was incessantly screeching. The hunter walked to the tree where the crow was sitting and below it lay human remains. But what was strange was the scene near the tree. There was a partial skull, a femur, a neatly rolled-up men’s belt next to the skull and two boots.
There was also a men’s coat on the ground that had a small tear in the back, and a wa
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