Cable network to air program on Great Falls murder

• "Little Girl Gone" will air at 7 p.m. Sunday
• Will be shown on Investigation Discovery%27s %22Unusual Suspects"
• Chanel 77 for Great Falls Charter Communications customers

On Sunday, the cable television program "Unusual Suspects" will premiere "Little Girl Gone," an episode detailing the murder of 9-year-old Dolana Clark, who disappeared from Great Falls in 1988.

Interviews of law enforcement, prosecutors and witnesses connected to her murder investigation were all conducted in Great Falls.

Friends and family last saw Dolana riding her sister's bicycle down 25th Street South at about 5:30 p.m. Aug 2. Despite an extensive search, it was more than a year before the little girl's remains were found by a hunter in the Little Belt Mountains. Her skull had an entrance wound in back and an exit wound in front caused by a small-caliber bullet.

A neighbor of Dolana's, Wilfred "Bill" Morrissey, became a suspect in her disappearance based on his relationship with her. There were certain inconsistencies in his statements to investigators, and police had learned other information through interviews with other witnesses.

Morrissey lived a couple of blocks from the Clark residence and had a close relationship with the family during the years preceding Dolana's disappearance. He ran errands for them, joined them on picnics and came to holiday dinners. The Clarks used Morrissey's telephone since they did not have one of their own. Dolana spent substantial time at Morrissey's house, and she and her older half-sister, Lisa, occasionally spent the night there. At one point, Morrissey thought about marrying Lisa. He also talked to Dolana about moving in with him once she got older.

When Dolana disappeared, Morrissey joined several members of the family in searching for her. About two weeks after her disappearance, however, Morrissey ceased all interactions with the Clark family.

Detectives searched Morrissey's house and two vehicles but found no evidence indicating where Dolana might be. They also found no weapons in the house, and Morrissey told them that he did not own any weapons. He repeatedly denied any involvement in what happened. Morrissey left Great Falls a few months later and eventually settled in Weston, Colo.

In 2002, Great Falls police renewed the investigation into Dolana's death. Detectives reviewed the case file, including statements Morrissey had given in 1988, and ultimately developed the following theory: Dolana went to Morrissey's house the evening of Aug. 2, 1988, after her father had refused to give her money to purchase a Siamese cat on layaway at a local pet store. Morrissey killed Dolana at some point during the evening and placed her body and bicycle in the trunk of his 1963 Chevy Impala. He then joined family members in searching for Dolana but refused to use either of his vehicles in the search; afterward, he drove her body up to the mountains where it was found a year later. He then returned to town by roughly 6:30 a.m. Aug. 3.

Great Falls police Sgt. John Cameron and Detectives John Schaffer and William Bellusci traveled to Colorado and met with officers from the Las Animas County Sheriff's Office and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. With these officers' assistance, they executed search warrants on Morrissey's residence, his Impala and his 1985 Chevy Camaro.

Morrissey gave detectives incriminating statements. Among other things, he said he owned a .22-caliber rifle, which he had broken into several pieces, and that he had thrown parts of the rifle away but had buried the barrel in the mountains behind his house. He also stated that he had done all of this just a couple of weeks earlier after learning police had renewed their investigation into Dolana's death. He said he got rid of the gun "because I knew I was going to get pinned with something I didn't do."

Morrissey directed the detectives to the location where he had buried the rifle barrel. After recovering the barrel, they transported him to the local police station to give a videotaped statement. During the interview, Morrissey admitted that he had lied to detectives in 1988 when he told them that he did not have any weapons. He claimed, however, that he had loaned his rifle to Dolana's father one week before she disappeared and that the rifle was not returned until a week after her disappearance.

The state of Montana charged Morrissey with deliberate homicide on Sept. 4, 2002. Following years of continuances and motions to dismiss, the case proceeded to a four-day jury trial in November 2005. The jury found Morrissey guilty, and the District Court sentenced him to the Montana State Prison for life with no eligibility for parole.

SHOW AIRS SUNDAY

"Little Girl Gone" will air at 7 p.m. Sunday on the Investigation Discovery network (ID channel) program "Unusual Suspects."

The show will be available to Great Falls Charter Communications customers on cable channel 77. Check your TV broadcast schedule for availability of the channel in other areas.