Family of missing man seeks justice after body discovered

Authorities believe they have recovered the body of a Troy man missing since last summer.

Daniel Lee Dolan, 41, was last seen in June 2020. Efforts to locate him had proven futile until last week. While combing the area near an abandoned pickup truck off of state Highway 56, first responders found a body on April 5, according to a press release from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

The person who tipped off authorities to the pickup believed it was connected to Dolan’s case, officials said.

Authorities have sent the body to the Montana State Crime for positive identification and investigation.

Dolan’s mother Jennifer Evans said the find gave her a small measure of closure. She suspects foul play, though, and said that she was waiting to see justice served.

“Until that’s solved there won’t totally be closure,” she said.

Evans is aware of the many rumors about her son’s death circulating through the community. To help solve the case, she has hired a private investigator.

The law enforcement investigation into Dolan’s death remains ongoing. Authorities have not yet determined a cause of death, officials said.

Evans and Dolan’s stepfather, Richard Evans, remembered their son as an outgoing and caring person.

While Dolan had struggled with addictions, Jennifer Evans said he was getting back on the right track before his disappearance. She recalled how Dolan had started going to the Troy Christian Fellowship Church, where he played drums. Although he had only lived in Troy a couple of years, Dolan had made scores of friends.

“He was the kind of guy that would walk into a gas station and ask, ‘How are you doing,’” said his mother.

Richard Evans agreed, saying that Dolan had a great sense of humor and was always willing to lend a hand.

“[Dolan] was a loving dude,” he said. “He loved anyone. He would help anyone.”

Jennifer Evans said Dolan was loved by his family and will be sorely missed. He fathered four sons, the youngest being just five years old.

Authorities were alerted to the abandoned truck in the Shannon Flats area on April 3, officials said. Deputies searched the area and determined that the pickup had been left there for an extended period of time. An initial search of the nearby grounds uncovered little else.

The following day, investigators returned, this time with help from David Thompson Search and Rescue. A wider search involving dogs was launched, though it too proved unsuccessful.

An even more expansive search undertaken on April 5 uncovered the body.

Jennifer Evans said the Christian rock band Disciple would hold a free memorial concert for Dolan at the Troy Activities Center on Oct. 23. She is coordinating with the pastor of the Troy Christian Fellowship Church to organize a memorial service for Dolan.