It’s the fifth day of the search for 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown, who appears to have successfully eluded upwards of 250 law enforcement personnel. He stands accused of opening fire in the Owl Bar in Anaconda, shooting and killing the only four people in the bar.
After receiving a briefing from all law enforcement agencies involved in the search, Gov. Greg Gianforte held a news conference in which he reiterated his resolve to capture Brown, calling it the state’s highest priority.
Attorney General Austin Knudsen tells us nobody’s seen Brown since he fled the bar following the shooting. He says, “There is certainly evidence in our search area that he’s present and that, you know, we’re hunting in the right haystack.”
Brown was last seen driving a stolen white pickup truck west, out of town on Stumptown Road. His family says he’s never been the same after serving his tour in Iraq. None of the residents of Anaconda have come forward saying they’ve seen Brown.
Deer Lodge County Attorney Morgan Smith says they are working tirelessly to find the shooter.
Along with the search for Brown, the Montana Department of Justice is conducting an investigation, while the U.S. Marshals Service has upped their reward to $10,000 for information leading to Brown’s arrest or capture. Tips are coming in and, we’re told, every piece of information — no matter how small — is being investigated.
Sen. Steve Daines, monitoring the situation in Anaconda, tells the Fox News Channel’s Special Report, “We’ve got a good perimeter around him at the moment. We’re going to bring this guy out one way or the other. Dead or alive, we’re going to get him.”
The modern definition of a mass killing is where at least four victims are shot and killed; this is only the second mass killing in Montana history. The only other one was also in the Anaconda area in 2015.
