Montana man arrested for murder, wrongly reported as bear attack

Sheriff Dan Springer said Mr Kjersem had welcomed his killer to share his campsite, about 35 miles (56 km) south of the city of Bozeman.

Prosecutors say that at one point Mr Abbey hit Mr Kjersem with a piece of wood, then stabbed him with a screwdriver and attacked him with an axe.

The suspect allegedly returned to the crime scene later to remove items from the camp that he believed might link him to the crime, but overlooked the beer can.

He confessed to the killing, telling police he attacked his victim after discovering her where he had planned to camp, officials say.

Police say Mr Abbey led them to several items he had stolen from the campsite, including an axe, guns and a fridge.

“This appears to be a heinous crime by an individual who had no regard for Dustin Kjersem’s life,” said Sheriff Springer.

“We have some of his story, but … we don’t really know what the real story is,” Springer said.

Mr Abbey was being held on $1.5m (£1.2m) bail during a court appearance on Friday.