SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The human remains found in Jackson County in January have been confirmed to be the remains of a missing Pine Ridge woman, the Rapid City Police Department announced Friday. 

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According to the RCPD, Michelle Elbow Shield was reported missing in December 2023 after last being seen in Rapid City in October 2023. In October 2024, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the RCPD issued a $5,000 reward for information regarding Elbow Shield’s disappearance.  

Police have submitted the remains for analysis to determine the cause and manner of Elbow Shield’s death and the investigation into her disappearance and death remains active and ongoing, officials said. 

A tip in January led authorities to locate Elbow Shield’s remains in a plot of land in Jackson County, within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The remains were sent to Othram, a lab in Texas, for DNA testing. 

“Thousands of hours have been invested into the investigation into Michelle’s disappearance, and we hope this recent news can offer some sense of closure for her loved ones,” RCPD Chief Don Hedrick.

“We remain committed to fully investigating the circumstances surrounding her disappearance through collaboration with the involved public safety agencies in order to uphold justice in the case,” Hedrick said. “The recent break in this investigation came thanks to information shared by the public, and we intend to use all available combined resources in order to bring this case to a resolution.”

Elbow Shield’s grandmother told KELOLAND News last year she wouldn’t go anywhere without letting someone know.

“Something like this is heartbreaking for a family to go through,” Kristen Mittelman, chief development officer at Othram, the forensic laboratory that did the DNA testing, said in a statement to KELOLAND News. “But being able to deliver answers is important so that law enforcement can get to the truth.”