By Victoria Traxler MONTANA PUBLIC RADIO
The weeklong search for a man suspected of fatally shooting four people at The Owl Bar in Anaconda ended Friday. At a press conference, law enforcement said Michael Paul Brown had been found near the Ranch Bar, about five miles west of town off a local highway.
The news brought some relief to residents of the tight-knit community like Dustin Tebay.
“It was a bit of closure for us, I think. It caused fear throughout the community; my wife was pretty concerned, and it was a way for us to just kind of make it real,” Tebay says.
Tebay says he and many others will sleep better at night following the arrest.
Brown made his first appearance in justice court in Anaconda Monday. The court set Brown’s bail at $2 million. He’s being held at the Butte-Silver Bow Detention Center.
Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Attorney Morgan Smith was raised in Anaconda. She says this case is important for her.
“To see an impact of something like this on our community is something I would never wish for,” Smith says. “If I could go back and undo it all, I would.”
Bars and casinos across the state have pledged to donate sales raised on Sat. Aug 16 to the families of the four victims. This includes bars in Billings, Shelby, Virginia City, Lincoln and Townsend.
Over 250 law enforcement personnel from three dozen agencies participated in the search. The state’s division of criminal investigation and local law enforcement will remain on the case moving forward.
The four victims of the shooting have been identified as 59-year-old Daniel Baillie, 64-year-old Nancy Kelley, 70-year-old David Leach, and 74-year-old Tony Palm. All were local residents and the only known occupants of the bar during the shooting, aside from Brown.
Police say they believe Brown went home briefly before moving to another “structure” after the shooting. They also believe he ditched his personal effects and clothing before stealing a white Ford F-150. Nearly identical white Ford trucks created a challenge for law enforcement, according to Knudsen.
While the search for Brown is over, officials say the investigation is still ongoing.
