Overview

Last seen: March 16, 2025, at approximately 8 p.m.
Location: Burlington Northern/BNSF railroad bridge over the Missouri River between Mandan and Bismarck, North Dakota
Age when missing: 20
Tribal affiliation: Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
Current status: Missing; investigation remains open
Investigating agencies: Mandan Police Department and Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services Missing and Murdered Unit
Police case reference: 25000954

Renzo Bullhead was captured on surveillance video walking east from the Mandan side of the railroad bridge toward Bismarck. Investigators have said video does not show him leaving from the east end of the bridge or returning to the west side. Searches of the Missouri River, shoreline and surrounding areas have involved law enforcement, tribal agencies, search-and-rescue organizations, K9 teams, sonar, drones, aircraft, boats and volunteers. Despite those efforts, no confirmed trace of Bullhead has been publicly reported.

As of August 2026, the federal BIA case page continues to classify Bullhead as a missing person, lists the case as open, and identifies Dustin Dobbs as the agent associated with the investigation.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Renzo Bullhead Missing Person Case: What Happened on the Bismarck-Mandan Railroad Bridge?

Brief Case Summary

Last seen: March 16, 2025, at approximately 8 p.m.
Location: Burlington Northern/BNSF railroad bridge over the Missouri River between Mandan and Bismarck, North Dakota
Age when missing: 20
Tribal affiliation: Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
Current status: Missing; investigation remains open
Investigating agencies: Mandan Police Department and Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services Missing and Murdered Unit
Police case reference: 25000954

Renzo Bullhead was captured on surveillance video walking east from the Mandan side of the railroad bridge toward Bismarck. Investigators have said video does not show him leaving from the east end of the bridge or returning to the west side. Searches of the Missouri River, shoreline and surrounding areas have involved law enforcement, tribal agencies, search-and-rescue organizations, K9 teams, sonar, drones, aircraft, boats and volunteers. Despite those efforts, no confirmed trace of Bullhead has been publicly reported.

As of August 2026, the federal BIA case page continues to classify Bullhead as a missing person, lists the case as open, and identifies Dustin Dobbs as the agent associated with the investigation.

Renzo Bullhead Disappeared While Crossing From Mandan Toward Bismarck

Renzo Bullhead was a 20-year-old member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and a welding student at United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck when he disappeared during spring break on March 16, 2025. Family members have described him as athletic, social and close to his brothers, with a background in football, basketball and track.

Bullhead’s mother, Diedra Leaf, later told Buffalo’s Fire that she had dropped him off with two friends at approximately 6:30 p.m. that evening. About an hour and a half later, surveillance footage placed him walking toward and onto the railroad bridge spanning the Missouri River between Mandan and Bismarck.

According to early information released by Mandan Police, Bullhead told an acquaintance that he was walking across the train bridge and asked to be picked up on the Bismarck side. He never arrived at the planned meeting point.

Surveillance Video Became a Key Part of the Investigation

Security footage shows Bullhead walking east on the bridge at roughly 8 p.m. on March 16. Police said the available footage showed him entering the bridge but did not show him exiting on the Bismarck side or returning toward Mandan. Investigators also reported that cellphone-location information was consistent with Bullhead being on the bridge at that time.

Bullhead was wearing black-and-white or gray checkered/plaid pants, a black hoodie or sweatshirt and a black puffer jacket. Reports also described white-and-red Jordan basketball shoes. He was approximately 5 feet 11 inches tall and 180 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.

He was formally reported missing on March 18, two days after the final known sighting.

Extensive Searches of the Missouri River Found No Confirmed Evidence

The location of Bullhead’s final known sighting placed particular attention on the Missouri River and areas beneath and downstream from the railroad bridge.

Mandan Police initially searched with assistance from the North Dakota Highway Patrol, which provided aircraft and K9 resources. Burleigh County Dive/Rescue and Minnesota-based Northstar Search and Rescue later assisted. Police said K9 officers searched the bridge area and sonar teams searched the water below and downstream from it.

By June 2025, Mandan Police said the bridge area had been examined by at least three sonar teams. Search efforts included drones, foot searches, bloodhounds and repeated North Dakota Highway Patrol flights along the river. At least one water-search effort involved dogs trained to detect human remains.

The Burleigh County Sheriff’s Department reported spending an estimated 150 to 200 hours conducting surface and underwater work on the Bullhead case, including the use of an underwater sonar-equipped drone. Several underwater targets were examined but were determined not to be a body.

Authorities have not publicly announced finding confirmed physical evidence showing what happened to Bullhead.

Surveillance Footage Shows an Unexplained Splash

A potentially significant development became public in June 2025 after Buffalo’s Fire obtained approximately 77 hours of surveillance footage through a public-records request.

Video from an east waterway camera reportedly shows a substantial disturbance or splash in the Missouri River at 8:38:32 p.m., roughly 20 minutes after Bullhead was recorded approaching or crossing beneath another camera on the opposite end of the bridge.

The recording is dark and pixelated, and nothing visible in it establishes what caused the splash. Bullhead’s mother acknowledged that it could have resulted from several things and that the footage itself does not prove her son entered the water. Mandan Police did not publicly identify a cause for the disturbance in the reporting surrounding the video.

The splash therefore remains an unexplained observation, not proof of what happened to Bullhead.

Police Said the Bridge Area Was Not Being Treated as a Crime Scene

Questions about whether Bullhead intentionally entered the river circulated during the early months of the search. In May 2025, Mandan Police told Buffalo’s Fire that investigators had not reached a conclusion about what happened and disputed reports suggesting the disappearance had officially been classified as a suicide.

A month later, Mandan Police said the area beneath the bridge was not considered a crime scene.

There has likewise been no public law-enforcement announcement establishing that Bullhead was the victim of a homicide. The federal BIA record continues to categorize him specifically as a missing person rather than a homicide victim.

Family Raised Questions About Video and the Investigation

As the case continued without answers, Bullhead’s family publicly expressed concerns about parts of the investigation, including access to surveillance footage and search locations.

In May 2025, the family issued a statement questioning aspects of the investigation and called for additional searches, boats, drones, sonar, dogs and horseback search teams. Mandan Police maintained that the search would continue and that investigators had not reached conclusions about Bullhead’s fate.

The family also sought longer portions of surveillance footage from multiple cameras. Mandan Police later said a flash drive containing all available footage had been provided to Bullhead’s parents after they declined an opportunity to view clips at the department.

Police additionally said BNSF Railway and Ames Construction cooperated with law enforcement and allowed official search teams access to relevant property. Civilian access was more restricted because of safety and liability concerns around the railroad and construction area.

Investigators Examined Bullhead’s Communications

Bullhead’s electronic communications also became part of the investigation.

His family believed footage showed him using Snapchat while approaching the bridge. In June 2025, Mandan Police said a North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation agent had obtained the Snapchat exchange involving Bullhead and had been in telephone contact with his girlfriend, with an interview planned.

Police also requested information such as Bullhead’s blood type for entry into NamUs, the national system used to compare missing-person information with unidentified people and remains.

No publicly released information from those investigative steps has established what happened after Bullhead was seen on the bridge.

A Major Search Was Conducted Before Winter

Searches continued well beyond the first weeks of Bullhead’s disappearance.

On October 30, 2025, more than 70 participants took part in an approximately 10-hour coordinated search centered near Fort Rice, south of Bismarck. Searchers covered an area stretching roughly 40 miles and used dogs, horses, sonar equipment, drones, boats, UTVs and ground teams to examine water, shoreline and sandbanks.

Representatives or resources from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Blackfeet Nation, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Spirit Lake Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe participated alongside other search organizations and law enforcement. BIA officer Dustin Dobbs and the Morton County Sheriff’s Department were also among those involved.

The October search produced no new confirmed leads.

One Year Later, Renzo Bullhead Was Still Missing

On March 16, 2026, exactly one year after Bullhead disappeared, his family continued to ask the public for information.

Mandan Police Lieutenant Brent Wilmeth said the department had not forgotten the case and intended to conduct another search of the Missouri River when seasonal ice conditions permitted access. Investigators were also considering additional approaches and strategies.

Bullhead’s family continued seeking additional surveillance information, particularly from the Steamboat Park area in the direction they believed he was headed. Bismarck Parks and Recreation District told Buffalo’s Fire in response to a records request that it did not possess footage dating earlier than January 31, 2026.

The family also expressed interest in having additional dogs trained to locate human remains search areas on both the Bismarck and Mandan sides of the bridge.

No publicly confirmed new lead was announced at the one-year mark.

Latest Investigation Information

The most important current development is that the investigation has not been closed.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services Missing and Murdered Unit currently lists Renzo Bullhead’s case as OPEN. Its current case page identifies the Mandan Police Department and BIA OJS Missing and Murdered Unit as the investigating agencies and lists Dustin Dobbs as the agent. The agency continues to solicit information from the public.

North Dakota’s statewide missing-person database likewise continues to list Bullhead among the state’s missing Indigenous people, with Mandan Police as the investigating agency.

Publicly available reporting through 2026 has disclosed no confirmed recovery of Bullhead, no announced arrest, no publicly identified suspect and no official determination that he died by accident, suicide or homicide.

The central unanswered question therefore remains the same: What happened to Renzo Bullhead after he was recorded walking east across the railroad bridge toward Bismarck on March 16, 2025?