A seven-year-long case involving the death of two Unalaska teen girls has come to a close, after the state dropped charges against 25-year-old Dustin Ruckman on Wednesday.
Ruckman was facing two counts of criminally negligent homicide for his involvement in the deaths of Karly McDonald, 16, and Kiara Renteria Haist, 18. The state told the court it was dismissing the charges and would not retry Ruckman.
“Having attempted to prosecute twice, the state determined it would not pursue a third attempt,” said state prosecutor John Skidmore in an email to KUCB Thursday afternoon.
In May of 2019, Ruckman’s truck rolled down a cliff on Unalaska’s Mount Ballyhoo. Ruckman, 18 at the time, was driving the truck and told police he was thrown from the vehicle. The teen girls inside were also eventually ejected but died in the roughly 900-foot fall.
Since then, the case has been delayed for many reasons: complications during the COVID-19 pandemic; the defense’s original attorney was undergoing cancer treatment; the former judge overseeing the case had to recuse himself; and then the court couldn’t find enough unbiased jurors in Unalaska and had to change venue. Most recently, new evidence from the personal cell phone of the leading investigator surfaced and the court needed extra time to process and discuss the material.
The case finally went to trial and ended in its first mistrial by a hung jury in Anchorage in the spring of 2025. A new group of jurors deadlocked once again in late March.
In the coming year, Karly’s mother, Alyssa McDonald, said rather than pursuing a civil suit against Ruckman, she’s hoping to focus her time on changing the legal system. She said she wants legislation that better protects the public.
Diana Renteria, Kiara’s mother, said she and Kiara’s father, Derek Haist, have sat in courtrooms and met with lawyers for seven years, trusting in a justice system that others told them to have faith in.
“I held my breath only to get mistrials and no accountability,” Renteria said in an email to KUCB.
Renteria said she is also frustrated with the legal system and the overall investigation.
“We were let down by the people in charge of overlooking this incident,” she said.
Renteria said she and Haist are still trying to accept the outcome and the death of their child.
Defense attorney Julia Moudy declined a request for comment.
