New DNA Technology Solves Decades-Old Missoula Double Homicide Case

Missoula Cold Case From 1990 Moves Forward After 35 Years

These days, thanks to modern technology, a cold case never really stays cold. Some of these cases sit unsolved for years, even decades, but as technology improves, investigators get new tools that can finally help bring answers.

That's exactly what's happening in Missoula with a case that dates back more than 35 years.

Two Deliberate Homicide Charges Filed in Missoula Case

According to NBC Montana, the State of Montana has filed two counts of deliberate homicide against Nickie Dean Gardiner in connection with the 1990 deaths of Bertha Scott and Nancy Lagerquist. The charges were announced by Missoula County Attorney Matt Jennings.

Scott and Lagerquist, both of whom suffered from dementia, were residents of what was then known as Riverside Health Care Center in Missoula.

In July 1990, Lagerquist was abducted from the facility after her window screen was cut during the night. Her body was later found in the Clark Fork River.

Scott had died just a couple of months earlier, in May of that same year. After concerns were raised by staff, her body was exhumed because investigators believed her death may also have been suspicious.

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Modern DNA Technology Links Evidence To Suspect

DNA evidence was collected during the investigation, but at the time there was no match, and no suspect was identified.

That changed in December 2025 when BODE Technologies used modern DNA analysis to connect evidence collected in 1990 to a potential match with Gardiner.

Gardiner is scheduled to be arraigned before Judge Shane Vannatta on Thursday, June 11, in Missoula County District Court.

Source: NBC Montana