Last Friday, at approximately 10:30 a.m., a man walked into a bar in the small Montana town of Anaconda, and opened fire on the bartender and patrons inside. He killed four people before fleeing the scene.
The suspect, Michael Paul Brown, still remains at large and the search for him has now stretched into its fifth day.
“Our Montana law enforcement officers have been unrelenting in their pursuit, working around the clock to bring this suspect, Michael Brown, to justice for his heinous acts,” Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Since Friday, a helicopter from the Helena battalion of the National Guard has flown for nearly 20 hours searching for signs and ferrying personnel in the remote area of the mountains where Brown is suspected to be hiding out, the governor said.
To help pay for the effort, Gianforte signed an executive order releasing funds and resources to aid in the search for the suspect. He did so after receiving a request from the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County police, and the money will help cover the cost of overtime and to continue the manhunt.
Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Attorney Morgan Smith addressed the fact that the community of Anaconda — and now an increasing national audience — want more information.
Smith said that 38 different local and state agencies, with hundreds of personnel, are coordinating with each other to assist in the search. However, details for the public, she explained, are still limited at this time.
“We ask that you remain patient and know that the investigation is ongoing,” Smith said. “When the dust settles, we will answer all the questions that we are able to.”
Where is Anaconda?
The town of Anaconda is about an hour and fifteen minutes southwest of Helena. It has a small tight-knit community of 9,000 people. Multiple media outlets have since reported on how impactful the tragic events are for the small, mountain town.
The four victims who were killed are all residents. They were later identified as Daniel Edwin Baillie, 59; Nancy Lauretta Kelley, 64; David Allen Leach, 70, and Tony Wayne Palm, 74.
Kelley was working behind the bar at The Owl Bar when Brown walked in. At a vigil the following Sunday, the owner, Dan Gwerder, told the Montana Free Press that, “It’s gonna be a long healing process for a lot of people.”
How is the suspect still missing?
Anaconda is walled in by rugged mountains, and is adjacent to the largest national forest in the state, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. In addition to that one, not far from the town are at least two additional national forests.
The mountainous terrain is the type of environment that would be easy to hide in, especially for people from the area like Brown, who grew up in Anaconda.
Brown is also a former U.S. soldier, who was deployed in Iraq from 2004-2005, and spent several years in the National Guard following his return.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said at the press conference that the suspect was “an unstable individual who walked in and murdered four people in cold blood, for no reason whatsoever. So there absolutely is concern for the public.”
The initial reward of $7,500 offered for any information that leads to Brown’s arrest or capture has since been revised. At the press conference, Knudsen said that the Montana Department of Justice increased the offering to $10,000.
“This is our top focus in the entire state of Montana is making sure this community is safe,” Knudsen said.
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