Authorities said on Sunday that the search for the man accused of killing four people at a Montana bar on Friday morning has expanded.
Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest said that more than 16 square miles of parkland is closed through Aug. 16 to facilitate the search for the suspect, Michael Paul Brown, 45. Brown is a former U.S. Army soldier who allegedly gunned down a bartender and three patrons at the Owl Bar next door to his Anaconda home. A motive for the shooting is still unknown.
The national forest’s Pintler Ranger District ordered the area about 8 miles west of Anaconda to be closed through the end of Aug. 16 “to ensure public health and safety during the ongoing law enforcement investigation and search efforts to locate the suspect for the Anaconda murders,” with the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement Center stating that the closure includes “Barker Lake and surrounding area.”
Montana State Attorney General Austin Knudsen said at a news conference on Sunday “This is a dangerous individual who has committed an absolutely heinous crime against this community and these victims.” Knudsen also announced an initial $7,500 reward for information leading to the capture of the suspect.
Knudsen identified the shooting victims as 64-year-old Nancy Lauretta Kelly, who was the bartender at the time of the shooting; 59-year-old Daniel Edwin Bailey; 70-year-old David Allen Leach; and 74-year-old Tony Wayne Palm. He said Baillie, Leach and Palm were all patrons of The Owl Bar. Knudsen said investigators believe that Brown was familiar with most of the victims, including the bartender: “From what I gather, it sounds like he was a regular at this establishment. He literally lives next door. I think it’s likely that he knew the bartender and these patrons, which even makes it more heinous.”
Brown is believed to be armed and dangerous, according to the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement Center. Authorities said he was wearing a tie-dye shirt, blue jeans and an orange bandana on Friday. However, a picture released Saturday by the Montana DOJ showed him fleeing the scene, apparently stripped down to just his boxers.
Anyone with information on Brown’s whereabouts are urged to call a hotline that has also been established through the U.S. Marshals Service: (877) WANTED2.
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