Part 3
Transcript of meeting with Mineral County Montana Board of Commissioners, November 26, 2021, with her family, concerned citizens and LE. Video time: 1:03:26 - 1:10:18
Missing Rebekah Barsotti, née Rose
Recalling back from part 2. Mike Toth <Mineral County Sheriff, MT>: It’s a missing person’s <case> until she’s found. Whether she’s recovered in the river or recovered somewhere else or found somewhere. It’s a missing person’s case. So, that, if we can fix it, we’ll get it fixed.
Angela <Mastrovito, AM>: Okay
MT: Because it should be a missing person’s. We said that. You <Angela> were in the meeting Missoula hammered out, so DCI <Department of Criminal Investigation>, originally …..
This all happens in the middle….this all happens like around five at night. Okay, it’s getting dark. Deputies go out there with Highway Patrol, they search the banks, they don’t see anything, they then, they see the stuff that they get called about. There are some things I can’t talk about, but they’re <the family> well aware of it. They’ve <the family> been briefed on it. We briefed the family on everything. There’s items that lead us to believe that she <Rebekah> went into the water.
There was no suicide whatsoever at this, so I don’t know where that came <from>, but there’s no suicide.
The reason the dog…. that it’s the water…
<I can’t hear this properly> We have evidence to show the dog at one point was in the water playing, with a stick. So that’s where everything’s pointing to the river. Because we’ve got items that are neatly set, that would say; somebody’s sitting there enjoying themselves on a hot day with their dog. Which is what she <Rebekah> does and likes to do. So everything matched everything perfectly.
AM: Can I intervene for a check for a minute?
MT: Oh, let me finish. You did all the time.
AM: All right, I’ll let you finish.
?: Take the right note
MT: She did that all the time. You <referring to Angela> did this all the time, she <Angela> did that a lot.
<In the background woman X is talking: “Let her speak, she’s missing her kid, that’s why she is upset”>
MT: Ok, go ahead
AM: The driver’s license and the credit card were perfectly laid out. You couldn’t have laid them out better with a ruler. Okay? And the whole thing is that this scenario is; ‘girl rescues dog’. You are not going to take the time to take your driver’s license and your credit card out of your pocket. You’re not going to take the time.
She <Rebekah> wore sunglasses all day long, because of a nevus on the cornea of her eye. So she wore sunglasses all day long. So law enforcement looks at the sunglasses and the hat, discarded, as: she threw them off.
MT: The witness that found it says they picked up the driver’s license.
Woman X, in audience: What witness?
MT: We’re not going to tell you.
Woman X in audience: Exactly
MT: It’s because…you can’t…if you reach out to him, now you’re harassing a witness. We know who he is. We know who the family is. We’re in contact.
Woman X in audience: And the 911 call wasn’t reported to you/the family?
Gerry Mastrovito<GM?, not sure who is talking>: So Sheriff, maybe, maybe….well.. help us…
MT: <interferes speaker> What I’m saying is; a witness called 911.They admit picking up items and looked as they’re like “What is this?” They pick it up. Then they go: “Oh, oh, we better set this down.” They’re the ones that stacked that nice. We’re <the Sheriff’s office> not saying Rebekah stacked that nice. Now there is….like the hat and the leash.
AM: Right
MT: And that there but, yeah, she probably was enjoying herself. You saw what you saw on the one video.
AM: On the one video. I didn’t see. We didn’t see the dog in the water with a stick.
<people talking over each other>
Male X in audience: The thing is, and it’s a simple thing, is: why not just get DCI <Department of Criminal Investigation> invited.
MT: I’m getting there.
So when we think she is in the water, when we finally think we might have somebody in the water. That’s what.. uh..we think we have got. I call Missoula <County, Sheriff’s office>, because they got their search and rescue and they got divers. So they come out. I call ‘Two Bear Air’ to search the air, right away. I call Flathead County. They’ve got, they’ve got
expert river rescue divers. They start heading down. Kootenai County, eventually, comes down later on and she <?, don’t understand the ‘she’ MT is referring to> contacts the place <?> out of Missoula <County> or out of Minnesota. Missoula invites them over again. <don’t understand this whole part> So we don’t need no more divers. There’s been enough divers in the water.
AM: Right
MT: You know. We are risking people’s life now at this point. So when Missoula shows up, their detectives come out. TJ <McDermott, Sheriff, Missoula County> asked me “What do you need?” and I go: “Well, your ‘Search and Rescue’ got the water. I need somebody, because I ain’t got the manpower, to, let’s say, she’s not in the water. I need you to investigate that.” And that’s what they did.
?: Okay…
MT: Missoula <Sheriff’s office> took it. Missoula took that investigation over from us at that point.
AM?: Can I ask a question?
Chairman/male in audience?: Just let him finish, please.
MT: So we handed that part outside of the river <over?>. If she <Rebekah> is not in the river, handle this and so then he <?> put two detectives and sergeant <Ryan> Prather. And then I can’t think of <remember> the other two detectives names.
AM: Travis Wafstet and Kellen Larson
MT: Yeah, and the commander, whatever.
AM: Dave <such and such> I don’t remember his last name. Dave.
MT: Right. So they take over <the part of the investigation>: “What happens if she is not in the river?”, <and> start searching. Now they do bring, because when I was there, there were cadaver dogs there and they did search that immediate area, up in those bushes and all that. That one guy in Alberton <?> has like….he trains them and they brought his dogs in and then Missoula County brought their dog in. And I think maybe the city <City of Missoula?> brought a dog, but <the> County for sure and I know that this guy in Alberton <?> brought three dogs in. And one at the time they went through and…um…when I was there, they all ended up going and then they went right to the river, where her <Rebekah’s> stuff was at and started barking into the river. And so then, okay, but Missoula takes the outside stuff which then leads to the trailer? and all that. Why that was all taken? You <Angela Mastrovito> were with them. Agree.
AM: I agree, I was outside there with the/a mediator.
MT: We’re out of there at that point. We’re at that point: that’s their investigation. They grab all that stuff for their investigation. Thinking: well maybe it’s better to have it than not to have it. So they grab it. They don’t think there is a need to search it right now, because, again, we have a missing person’s <case> Um, so they don’t think they need to search it. I know some people are leaning <towards the idea> that she was murdered by, maybe, a family member or not and so I don’t know what the laptop would show, with that. The phone didn’t show anything. Didn’t lead us anywhere. In the phone would be more ……..the…….<details?>
Male X in audience: But that’s….but Mikey…..
MT: So we called DCI. They only got one detective that would come help us. Missoula’s got it. Now if you want me to have DCI in and review everything we’ve done. I’ve not problem with that …I call and asking. And talk about Fish and Game’s…<Montana Fish Game and Wildlife> I called them the day it happened, said this: “This is yours”. <Response to MT from them> “No we don’t want no part of that, have a joy.” They were all in training. They wouldn’t come. The only thing they would do is they’d string yellow tape upon top of that one path.
AM: I saw that and I didn’t understand that at all.
MT: That’s the only thing they said they would do.
AM: I mean, she wasn’t even there, at that spot.
MT: Search and Rescue was down there. They didn’t want people coming down there while they were searching. They want people back in a way. But they said that’s the only thing they would do for us. <yellow tape>
Male X in the audience: I do, I think there’s things, I….
I hope I can fix the last part in one part, but I really can't promise.