by Travis Mateer

It’s been over a week since a body was found on the banks of the Clark Fork River, but the State Crime Lab hasn’t released an ID, so as of this writing it is not known whether or not the body is that of Rebekah Barsotti.

How long should it take to produce a positive ID? Is there some other reason to withhold the results?

After an emergency guardianship hearing on Wednesday (where Rebekah’s mother, Angela Mastrovito, retained control of decision making in regards to possible remains) I was curious what Sheriff Toth might think, so I tracked him down to a hospital room in Billings.

Did Sheriff Toth speak with me? Yes, briefly, but once I identified myself, he quickly hung up, so I didn’t get a chance to wish him a speedy recovery in the hopes he can one day be compelled to testify in court.

You see, court is where I’d like to see things happen, preceded by, I don’t know, maybe the arrest of a hitman being promoted by a PI eager for attention, but that’s not what’s happening.

I called the Attorney General’s office and actually got the public information guy on the phone, but Kyler Nerison didn’t have much to say as I explained to him how bad things were about to look for his boss.

Or maybe it won’t, since it would take a functioning media and attentive public to produce the effects PR people are actually concerned about.

I was a little worried about seeing the hitman on Friday, since I was told by the PI he wasn’t in Missoula, but then I met the Beast your Biz guy and found out he’s also a search and rescue guy who was on scene when the body was recovered. Did I forget to mention he also knew Rebekah?

Since it’s become obvious to me we live in a cartoon clown world, I’ve realized there’s nothing to worry about. It’s all good. Nothing to see here.

If you disagree, listen to this.

Fun times.