Tessa Lavae Curley, 39, was found dead of a stabbing inside her home in Box Elder, South Dakota, on or about Sunday, October 11, 2020. Curley, an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, lived in the Rapid City/Box Elder area at the time of her death after earlier stretches of her life in Eagle Butte, Pierre, and San Jose, California. Her mother, Sharon Brings Plenty, has publicly stated that her daughter "was murdered in her own home." No timeline of Curley's activities in the hours before her death, and no description of a suspect or vehicle, has been made public.
The case is being investigated jointly by the Pennington County Sheriff's Office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services Missing and Murdered Unit (BIA OJS MMU), with the Pennington County State's Attorney's Office also involved. Reporting indicates the case was administratively closed in 2022 for insufficient evidence and was later reopened with MMU assistance; several unnamed individuals have been identified by the Sheriff's Office as persons of interest, though none has been publicly named, charged, or otherwise had guilt implied. The case remains open and unsolved as of 2026. Tips can be submitted to the BIA MMU by texting BIAMMU to 847411, calling 1-833-560-2065, or emailing OJS_MMU@bia.gov.
