3 men missing on South Dakota reservation found dead

PINE RIDGE, S.D. (AP) — Three men who went missing more than two weeks ago on South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation have been found dead, a tribal official said Tuesday.

Oglala Sioux Tribal President John Yellow Bird Steele confirmed the men died in a single-car crash on the reservation, a sprawling expanse of badlands on the South Dakota-Nebraska border. The men were found Monday evening in a steep ravine that borders the White River.

The victims have been identified as 24-year-old Juan Lamont, 21-year-old Tevin Tyon and 23-year-old Tyrell Wilson.

"The search is over and we now have some answers, but I am deeply saddened with the outcome," Steele said in a statement. "The loss of these young lives is distressing."

The men were last seen May 7 in the community of Pine Ridge. The tribe declared a state of emergency four days later.

Searches for the men included all-terrain vehicles, horses, aircraft and SUVs, along with hundreds of volunteers.

Steele said the volunteers "cannot be thanked enough."