When Clem Pellett, an oral surgeon recovering from cancer surgery, stumbled upon a 60-year-old newspaper clipping about a brutal crime, he had no idea it would change his life.
The article detailed the murder of his grandfather, Clarence Pellett, who was shot seven times just north of Shelby in 1951. Despite the killer being sentenced twice, he was paroled and then vanished, becoming Montana’s longest-standing murder fugitive for the next four decades.
The mystery behind his disappearance haunted Clem’s family, until the Great Falls native decided to take the reins in 2009. Applying his medical skills to the cold case, Clem sifted through mountains of evidence.
“One thing led to the next, and I’ll be darned if I didn’t catch the longest standing murder fugitive in Montana history,” Clem recalls.
His relentless pursuit for justice is now captured in his new book, Murder on Montana’s Hi-Line, which details his investigation.
“As I was going, I just felt like I was being pulled into the story… that’s what kept me going,” Clem says.
On Thursday, August 7th, Clem returned to Great Falls to share his story with a community still deeply connected to the tragedy.
“The Hi-Line never forgets,” Clem emphasizes.
The story has since gained national attention, helping reunite the Pellett family, and bringing closure that had long eluded them.
“The murder split my family up. I didn’t know anything about the family until I was 56 years old,” Clem shared. “What it’s done is, it’s kind of made it a complete circle. And now I have this real feeling of belonging, and I know what my roots are.”
But the story’s impact extends far beyond the pages of his book.
A Montana-made film based on Clem’s journey is set to release later this year. Director, writer, and producer Fred Fontana describes the film’s mission:
“The whole premise of this film is about remembering the victim… Maybe this movie will help bolster that and bring some recognition to Clarence Pellett and what his contributions were.”
He continued, "For 2 hours we get a chance to have people watch something, and if we’re lucky, they step away from it having it affected them in some way or changed their life, or made them laugh, or let them escape from their own issues and their own problems. And that’s what movies are about… It’s an escape. This film resonates. This movie is a family story, a story about one man’s quest to legitimize the life of his grandfather, the grandfather that he never knew.”
From the Pellett Project website:
It was the spring of 1951 when a blistering spring blizzard hit the Hi-Line of Montana. This was a usual occurrence for this time of year, but this time it blew in a hitchhiker. Clarence C. Pellett, 59 years of age, knew how debilitating the intense spring blizzards could be, so he stopped to offer the teen traveler a ride. The teen shot Pellett in the back seven times, blood staining the prairie of north central Montana.
The shooter, Frank Dryman, was captured the following day, April 5th, in Canada. The arrest ignited a four-year firestorm of heated debate over capital punishment after the killer was sentenced to death by hanging. Twice sentenced to hang, the confessed killer escaped the noose, when a sympathetic Montana Supreme Court stayed each execution. Frank Dryman was eventually sent to the state penitentiary to serve a life sentence by reason of insanity.
After serving just thirteen years of the life sentence, the killer was paroled into the custody of his brother in California. Eighteen months later he absconded. Warrants for his arrest were issued by Montana and the FBI. Still, he vanished into thin air. Impotent against the politically connected, this blue-collar Hi Line family was forced to swallow whole the injustice that the killer had “beat the rap”. Losing its’ patriarch caused a permanent rift in the family. For forty years, the murderer invented a whole new life. He used a series of aliases to hide in plain sight.
Spring of 2010 the winds changed. While recovering from cancer surgery, Clem C. Pellett (Clarence’s grandson) stumbled upon a 60 year old newspaper clipping chronicling the heinous crime. Looking to unearth the family secret, Clem tracked down his grandfather’s murderer. After years of work, Dryman was sent back to the Montana State Prison.
Despite the growing attention, Clem insists it was never about headlines or fame. His focus remains on honoring his grandfather’s memory, and ensuring his legacy is not forgotten.
“My grandfather’s legacy will not be forgotten. That’s what I’m most proud of,” Clem says.
A scholarship endowment created in remembrance of Clarence Pellett makes that possible. The annual scholarship supports students enrolled full-time at MSU Northern, seeking a degree in technical sciences. According to the Pellett Project website, Clem states “It is my sincere wish that his legacy is carried on by those who work in the trades, as he did.” If interested in donating, you can go to the foundation website and note “Clarence C. Pellett” in the comments section.
For more information on his book and the feature film, click here.
FROM AUGUST 2010:
