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NEW TOWN - The family of a New Town woman whose body was found in a pickup truck pulled from Lake Sakakawea earlier this week is making plans for her funeral.
Olivia Lone Bear's funeral will be held Monday at 10 a.m. in the Johnny Bird Veterans Memorial Hall, west of New Town, in the Four Bears Segment on the Fort Berthold Reservation. Her wake will be Sunday beginning at 5 p.m. in the hall. She will be buried in the family cemetery near New Town. Langhans Funeral Home of Parshall is handling the arrangements.
Lone Bear, the 32-year-old mother of five children, had been missing since this past October when she was last seen driving a borrowed pickup truck.
Law enforcement officials have not yet released an official identification. A law enforcement official said the FBI is confident the body found in the pickup truck is Lone Bear and they are waiting on DNA for positive confirmation. An autopsy was conducted Wednesday.
However, Lone Bear's brother, Matthew Lone Bear, said she was identified by her tattoos, according to the Associated Press. A volunteer group began searching the lake with sonar on July 25 and found what members believed was a submerged truck. Divers worked to recover the truck submerged about 30 feet deep and about 150 to 200 feet from shore. The FBI is investigating.
Mark N. Fox, chairman of the Three Affiliated Tribes, issued a news release Wednesday night on behalf of his office and the Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Nation.
He said the investigation into the cause, manner and circumstances of the case has been assumed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "We have every confidence that their efforts will bring a full and complete resolve for our Nation," he said in the news release.
He also said, "On behalf of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, I would like to commend our Tribal Law Enforcement Department on their extensive and continuing efforts in regards to the ongoing search and investigation into the whereabouts of Olivia Lone Bear, missing since October 25, 2017.
"Tribal Law Enforcement was assisted by the Sahnish Scouts of N.D., North Dakota State Game & Fish Department, Mountrail County Sheriff's Department, William's County Sheriff's Department, Williams County Underwater Search and Rescue, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, MHA Drug Enforcement Administration, MHA Game & Fish Department, North Dakota State Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the MHA Tribal Maintenance Department in the recovery of the vehicle this week.
"We are grateful to various other departments who came to our Tribal Law Enforcement's aid in all stages of the search that began in October of 2017: Mercer County Sheriff's Department, Roosevelt County Sheriff's Department in Montana, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, all other County Sheriff's Departments within the boundaries of the MHA Nation, and the North Dakota Fusion Center, U.S. Attorney's Office, Border Patrol, Department of Homeland Security and Bruce's Legacy.
"We continue to pray for the Lone Bear Family and pray that God will continue to watch over them in this very difficult time."