For nearly fifteen years, Theresa Dashewich lived a life on the road. Described by her brother as a "free spirit," the 47-year-old female traveled the country's vast network of highways, often relying on truck drivers for transportation. Though her last known address was in Huber Heights, Ohio, where she was born, her travels took her across the American South, to the West Coast, and throughout the Midwest. Her family, who had not seen her in many years, was left shocked and horrified by the violent end to her transient lifestyle in the summer of 2014.
In mid-June of that year, Theresa was trying to secure a ride eastward. On the night of Friday, June 13, 2014, surveillance cameras captured her at a Pilot truck stop in Billings, Montana, around 10 p.m. She wore a gray Harlem Globetrotter Adidas T-shirt, navy sweatpants, and white tennis shoes, and carried a duffel bag. From there, she walked to the nearby Flying J truck stop, a common place to find a long-haul ride.
She was seen there into the early morning hours of Saturday, June 14, and was last definitively sighted at about 5 a.m., asking truckers for a ride. A later, less clear video from around 8 a.m. showed a person resembling Theresa walking from the Flying J toward the I-90 eastbound on-ramp, but investigators could not be certain it was her.
Three days later and more than 375 miles to the east, a traveler pulled off Interstate 90 in a remote area of Jackson County, South Dakota. It was Tuesday, June 17, around 5 p.m., when the motorist made a grim discovery in a watery culvert near mile marker 172, just east of the small town of Kadoka. The body of a woman, later identified as Theresa Dashewich, had been left there. An autopsy determined she had been brutally beaten to death.
The South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) took the lead on the homicide case, with the FBI joining to assist due to the interstate nature of the crime. The investigation soon uncovered evidence that Theresa had been held against her will before her death, prompting the FBI to open a separate federal kidnapping investigation. Her last moments, an FBI special agent noted, were incredibly violent, raising concerns that a dangerous killer was still at large.
Because of the connection to truck stops and major highways, Theresa's case was added to the FBI's Highway Serial Killings Initiative. This national program helps coordinate investigations into violent crimes with a nexus to transportation corridors, although no public connection has been made between her death and a specific serial offender. Investigators focused heavily on the truck stops in Billings, analyzing surveillance footage and seeking witnesses who might have seen her interacting with someone or getting into a vehicle.
In a statement released shortly after her death, Theresa’s family expressed their shock and confidence that police would bring her killer to justice, asking for thoughts and prayers during a difficult time. A year after the murder, authorities renewed their public appeal for information. The case remains a priority for both the South Dakota DCI and the FBI. As of October 2026, Theresa Dashewich's homicide is listed as an unresolved case by the South Dakota Attorney General's office. No arrests have been made.
The FBI continues to offer a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for Theresa Dashewich’s murder. Investigators urge anyone who may have seen her at the Billings truck stops between June 13 and June 14, 2014, or who has any information about her travels or death, to come forward. Tips can be directed to the South Dakota DCI tip line at 605-394-1884 or to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
