Progress After 16 Years: Sheriff Asks Public's Help to Find Final Pieces in Bengie Lynn Tyson Case
Friends' refusal to forget Bengie breathes new life into years-old investigation
By Denise Rivette
On Thanksgiving Day 2009, Bengie Lynn Tyson called her parents and son from a motel in Montana. She spoke with the people she loved most, the ones she always made sure to stay in touch with no matter where life took her.
It was the last time her family heard her voice.
Sixteen years later, her parents Bryon and Rexie Tyson are still waiting for answers about what happened to their daughter, who vanished without a trace from Red Lodge in late November 2009. The intervening years have brought neither closure nor justice, only an ache that refuses to heal.
“There won’t be any closure until we find her, her remains, or bring somebody to justice,” Bryon said from the home he shares with Rexie in Florida. Florida is also where Bengie’s son, Devon, is trying to build a life without the mother he lost when he was a child.
A Bright Light in This World Who Loved Her Son
Bengie was 32 when she disappeared, a woman described as intelligent, caring and hardworking. She was fluent in Spanish and worked as a waitress in Phoenix. Investigators believe she may have been taking online classes. But more than anything, she was a mother who never stopped loving her son.
Though Bengie had lost custody of Devon when he was 7 or 8 due to struggles with drugs, she maintained regular contact. She always called on his birthdays. She visited when she could. A July 4, 2009, family gathering in Rock Island, Illinois, was the last time they were together.
“Even in her darkest times, she still checked in on her kid regularly,” Sergeant Jon Croft of the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office said, emphasizing why her sudden disappearance raised red flags.
Friends remember Bengie as popular, intelligent and fun — the kind of person who brought energy to a room. Merideth Spriggs, a high school friend from Illinois, said those who knew her agree: “You can’t find anybody to say a bad word about Bengie.”
Spriggs remembers Bengie’s kindness vividly. Years ago, when Spriggs was in an abusive relationship, Bengie helped her find the strength to get out. “I feel like [helping find out what happened to her] is the least I can do for Bengie because I never really got to properly thank her for her kindness,” Spriggs said.
The Day Everything Changed
Bengie was traveling around the country with her boyfriend, James D. Clemons, who also used the alias Andrew Brown. The couple spent July 4, 2009, with Bengie’s family in Rock Island, then traveled on. In November 2009, they were staying at the Chateau Rouge motel in Red Lodge as they sold meat door to door through Clemons’ business, Sweet Meats.
Despite the transient lifestyle, Bengie kept to her pattern of staying in touch with her child and parents.
While in Red Lodge, Bengie enjoyed spending time at Foster and Logan’s (now FOLO’s), where she watched her beloved Pittsburgh Steelers play football. She and Clemons also frequented Park City, where they had acquaintances.
On Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, 2009, she called her parents and Devon, who were visiting relatives in Ohio. She also called a friend that morning. The investigation revealed she had been invited to two parties that day but never showed up to either.
Carbon County Sheriff Josh McQuillan said Thanksgiving was the last time the family heard from Bengie. In January 2010, after weeks of silence, Bryon reported his daughter missing to police in Billings, where he believed her to be living.
The Billings Police Department began the initial investigation. When they realized the couple had been staying in the Red Lodge area, the case was transferred to the Carbon County Sheriff’s Department on Jan. 13, 2011.
According to investigators, Clemons told detectives he dropped Bengie off in Park City on Thanksgiving Day and saw her walking toward a vehicle. He claimed that was the last time he saw her.
Bengie’s father finds it concerning that Clemons didn’t report her missing when she didn’t return to the motel. Maureen Shearer, a high school friend who started a Facebook group dedicated to finding Bengie, put it more bluntly in a GoFundMe campaign: “Jamie’s story has a TON of holes.”
Bryon and Rexie didn’t approve of Clemons as a partner for Bengie, describing the relationship as volatile. “She tended to gravitate toward people with lower self-esteem than her who needed her help,” Bryon said. “Bengie always suffered from a self-esteem problem.”
Years of Investigation, Frustrating Gaps
Sheriff Josh McQuillan was the original case investigator for Carbon County. Croft and Detective Quentin Thompson (now retired) were assigned the case in 2014. Between them they have conducted extensive searches throughout the county and followed up on hundreds of leads. Croft estimates thousands of hours have been invested in the investigation.
The pickup truck Bengie had been driving — a blue 1999 Chevrolet Silverado registered under the name Andrew Brown — disappeared when she did. The vehicle had a GPS tracker that showed it traveling to Portland, Oregon, where the tracker was disabled on Jan. 15, 2010. U.S. Marshals seized the Silverado later in 2010 when they arrested Clemons on an unrelated Arizona warrant. The Montana Crime Lab analyzed the vehicle but found no evidence at that time that would support a prosecution. The truck remains in state custody and available for further testing.
McQuillan said this is still considered a missing persons case, and investigators have actively worked the case since receiving it. The most telling evidence, investigators say, is what hasn’t happened: Bengie has never contacted her son. The complete silence for all these years convinced them something terrible had happened.
For years, the case generated virtually no tips from the public. “From 2009 till earlier this year, I don’t think I received one phone call from anybody who really had a tip,” Croft said. Investigators had to track down witnesses on their own. They looked beyond Montana’s borders, contacting Border Patrol and other agencies, and searching databases across the country. Croft and McQuillan are happy to see this case getting the public attention that it deserves and that new tips are being generated and pursued.
Croft said he thinks about the case every day.
Earlier this year, something remarkable happened. Spriggs and other high school classmates from Illinois launched a social media campaign to keep Bengie’s story alive. The Facebook groups “Finding Bengie: The Firestorm” and “Justice 4 Bengie” have attracted hundreds of followers. Friends have posted flyers around Red Lodge. There are plans for a billboard. A GoFundMe campaign seeks to raise awareness.
Since the renewed media coverage, many people have come forward with information.
“This investigation has never been more alive than it has been this year,” Bryon said.
The renewed publicity comes too late in some ways — “a day late and a dollar short,” as Bryon put it — but he remains hopeful it will make a difference.
The grassroots effort aims to get Bengie’s case featured on national television programs like Dateline or 48 Hours, hoping broader exposure might shake loose the information that has eluded investigators for 16 years.
A Son’s Struggle, A Father’s Painful Choice
Devon was a child when his mother disappeared. Now 24, he lives in Florida and struggles with grief and economic hardship. Devon works but doesn’t earn fair pay, his grandfather said. The cost of living has made it difficult for him to get ahead without a college education and without the presence of his loving mother.
In November 2024, after 15 years of waiting, Bryon took the painful step of having Bengie declared deceased by Carbon County District Court Judge Matthew Wald. It wasn’t about closure — the family still doesn’t have that. It was about helping Devon.
The insurance proceeds went entirely to Devon, helping him get a reliable car, pay his rent and cover medical bills.
“It really was a shot in the arm for him,” Bryon said.
But money cannot fill the void left by a missing loved one and unanswered questions. Bengie’s mother, Rexie, remains an eternal optimist, believing and praying Bengie is alive somewhere. Bryon finds himself pulled toward a more painful reality.
“We haven’t heard from her in 16 years. No one has,” he said. “So I’m a realist in that regard.”
The declaration of death hasn’t brought peace. The family still doesn’t know what happened. They are still devastated by what Bryon describes as an open wound.
“You still have to carry on with your life,” he said. “But still, there’s that open wound.”
Someone Knows Something
Investigators believe that after 16 years, people who remained silent may finally be ready to talk. The renewed attention on the case, combined with the passage of time, may have changed personal deciding factors for those who know what happened.
“There have been people with information who have come forward,” Bryon said. “Apparently, from the legal perspective, it’s probably not actionable yet. But other people are starting to come forward who should have come forward a long time ago.”
Croft emphasized that investigators want to hear from anyone who knew Bengie or Clemons during that time.
“We want anybody who knew her to reach out to our office, especially who knew her in this area, knew any friends, knew Jamie Clemons at that time — he was going by the name of Andrew Brown,” Croft said.
Even seemingly insignificant details could prove crucial.
“The public doesn’t know the information that we have, and so any information is always useful,” Croft said. “Whether or not you think it’s relevant, it might be very, very relevant to us. It could be the missing piece that makes prosecution possible.”
Maybe you shared a beer with Bengie at Foster and Logan’s. Maybe you saw the couple at a barbecue in Park City. Maybe you bought meat from Clemons’ business. Maybe you remember a casual conversation that now takes on new meaning.
Anyone who remembers Bengie Lynn Tyson or James Clemons/Andrew Brown from that time — any detail, any conversation, any interaction — could help investigators piece together what happened during those final days in November 2009.
Help Bring Bengie Home
Bengie Lynn Tyson was last seen in Red Lodge in late November 2009. She was 32.
She is an African American woman, 5 feet 5 inches to 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing 120 to 140 pounds. She has light brown, medium-length hair and brown eyes. Her face is lightly freckled, and she has a 2-inch scar on her forehead.
She has several tattoos: an elephant on her abdomen, a yin-yang symbol on her back and Chinese characters on her back.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office at 406-446-1234. Ask for Sgt. Jon Croft.
Even the smallest detail could make a difference. Bryon, Rexie, Devon and Bengie’s entire family have waited 16 years for answers. Devon has lived more than half his life without his mother. They deserve to know the truth.
After 16 years of silence, it’s time for someone to speak up.
