Search Underway for Missing Belgrade Woman

UPDATE: JoVonne Justice, who had been reported missing on Sept. 14, has been located and is safe. 

Local law enforcement are trying to find a missing Belgrade woman. JoVonne Marie Justice, 44, has been missing from Gallatin County since Monday (Sept 14), according to the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office.

Justice is described in a press release as 5'5" and 140-160 lbs. She has blue eyes and blonde hair but has been known to dye it different colors. Typically she wears her hair in a ponytail. See the photo below.

The sheriff's department said she does not have a vehicle, and they believe her to be on foot. Justice was last seen in the Belgrade area.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of JoVonne Marie Justice, please contact the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office Detective Division at (406) 582-2121 or Gallatin County Dispatch at (406) 582-2100 ext. 2.

Earlier this year, The Montana Department of Justice released a report on missing person data and what they found from three years of analysis.

The MDJ looked at missing person cases in Montana between 2017 and 2019. According to the report, most people reported missing are actually found. In the 3,277 cases that were reported during that time period, 97.7% were located/recovered.

Other interesting data from the report includes:

• Women slightly outnumbered men in missing person cases. And in one of the years, men outnumbered the women.

• Gallatin had a lower per capita number of missing persons than larger counties like Yellowstone, Lewis & Clark, and Flathead.

• Most missing person reports involve people who have gone missing more than once. About 60% of missing person reports pertain to 28 percent of unique individuals.
• 81% of those who go missing in Montana, according to the report, were under the age of 18.