In the wilds of the Anaconda Range, experts say elusive gunman has advantage over searchers

ANACONDA – Plenty of places to hide in this breathtaking and rugged country.

That’s the consensus of two Anaconda natives and veteran outdoorsmen familiar with the territory within the Garrity Mountain Wildlife Management Area west of Anaconda and adjacent Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.

Much of the search for suspected killer Michael Brown has focused on the area southeast of steep Garrity Mountain. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks manages the wildlife management area about 2 miles west of Anaconda.

Brown is suspected of shooting and killing four people Friday morning at the Owl Bar in Anaconda. He escaped, abandoned a stolen pickup near Garrity Mountain and fled into the foothills of the Anaconda Range.

On Wednesday morning, law enforcement gathered again off Ravndal Road. It intersects Stumptown Road, which reopened to the public Tuesday. Both are gravel roads.

“The aspen groves are really, really thick,” said Fred Boyer, a former Forest Service smokejumper and hunting guide who is a famed wildlife sculptor. “There is a lot of downed timber in there from the beetle kill.”

The mountain pine bark beetle kills lodgepole pines. Toppled trees spread like jackstraws across the landscape, providing a bulwark of sorts for someone hiding behind them.

There are shrub thickets and bushy riparian areas along Warm Spring Creek and other streams.

“There would be a lot of places to hide,” Boyer said.

In a separate interview, Chris Marchion — an inductee into the Montana Outdoor Hall of Fame, noted conservationist and public lands advocate — shared similar thoughts.

“It’s pretty good terrain to hide out in,” Marchion said Sunday.

“He has the advantage over people looking for him,” he added Tuesday.

That’s partly because Brown, a military veteran, is said to know the area well from past experiences hiking, backpacking and hunting.

“When you’re in danger, you stick to something you know,” Marchion said. “Until the weather gets bad, his biggest challenge is getting something to eat.”

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said Tuesday there has been no evidence Brown has broken into cabins or houses in the search area.

Both Boyer and Marchion said Brown should have ready access to water in creeks, springs and mountain lakes. Hearst Lake, Haggin Lake and Barker Lakes, as well as Warm Springs Creek, are in the vicinity, but reaching any of them would require walking across open terrain.

Mount Haggin, with an elevation of 10,600 feet, dominates the skyline. Its slopes of talus and scree are challenging to ascend because the rocks slide underfoot. Garrity Mountain’s elevation is listed as 8,058 feet.

The weather is in Brown’s favor for now, Marchion said.

“This is the best time of the year for him to be out there,” he said.

Law enforcement numbers dropped dramatically earlier this week following a full-bore search Saturday and Sunday, when roughly 250 police officers, Montana National Guard troops, SWAT teams and more combed the area without success.

The needle-in-a-haystack search continues, with fewer searchers.

During a Tuesday press conference in Anaconda, both Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte and Attorney General Austin Knudsen insisted the capture of Brown remains a priority.

The Montana Standard asked about what appeared to be the significant reduction in forces on the ground beginning Monday.

“Look, I think it’s important to know that we are still taking this very seriously,” Knudsen responded. “This is still the No. 1 law enforcement effort in Montana.”

He said officers from out of town needed to return to their jurisdictions “and enforce the law there too.”

Knudsen said the search requires a lot of resources and expenses like overtime for police and other personnel involved in the hunt for Brown.

“It’s not reasonable for us to expect, you know, Petroleum County to come over here and put in the time that they have and not have that time compensated,” he said.

Gianforte announced during the press conference that he is releasing emergency funds to Anaconda-Deer Lodge County to help pay law enforcement overtime expenses tied to the search.

On a crisp and clear Wednesday morning, when a slightly more robust law enforcement presence seemed evident, vehicles from sheriff’s departments in Ravalli, Mineral and Meagher counties or other law enforcement entities were at or near the search command center off Ravndal Road.

Marchion said he would not be surprised if Brown chose to hang out in the territory he knows. But he and Boyer said the fugitive could hike out to areas like the Big Hole Valley or Georgetown Lake.

Either would offer resources for food or vehicles.

“If it were me, I would not hang around in there,” Boyer said. “You could be over in the Big Hole in the matter of a day or two. Georgetown Lake is no more than a day’s walk.”

Of course, Brown might already be dead. Authorities have declined to comment about whether cadaver dogs are involved in the search.

“He could go somewhere and off himself and we’d never find him,” Marchion said.

Knudsen said Tuesday that authorities have to assume Brown is armed. He reportedly used a rifle to kill the four victims Friday at the Owl Bar.

Boyer described the vulnerability faced by searchers.

“When you’re looking for somebody who is going to shoot you, you would assume the worst,” he said.

Brown could hunt for food, but he’d likely have to risk at least one rifle shot and a cooking fire.

Wildlife is abundant in the area.

Native grasslands in the vicinity of the search focus are important winter and spring calving habitat for elk.

FWP said species in the area include elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, bighorn sheep, moose, black bear, mountain lion, bobcat, beaver, muskrat, mink, dusky grouse and ruffed grouse. Some species of grouse can be killed with a well-aimed rock. Other animals, including grizzly bears, likely migrate through.

A person familiar with edible plants in southwest Montana said several berry species, including chokecherry, gooseberry and huckleberry, could be available in the search area. Whitebark pines, present at nearby Barker Lakes and Storm Lake, could provide seeds high in fat and protein.

Barker Lakes, in proximity to the search area, are part of a closure initiated Aug. 2 by the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest “to ensure public health and safety.” The closure is tentatively scheduled to lapse Aug. 17. FWP also closed the Garrity Mountain Wildlife Management Area in the wake of the shootings.

The Continental Divide Trail Coalition said it “pushed out on social media” a message that alerted hikers using the Anaconda Cutoff, which passes near Twin Lakes, to the manhunt underway. The Anaconda Cutoff is a popular alternative to a section of the main trail that allows through hikers to resupply and rest in Anaconda, named a Continental Divide Trail Gateway Community and often celebrated by hikers for its hospitality.

Steve and Marsha Hill co-own the Pintler’s Portal Hostel in Anaconda. Steve Hill said Wednesday that some hikers who have recently patronized the hostel have been aware of the manhunt just 2 miles west of town but others have not.

Meanwhile, Marchion wondered whether searchers could locate someone who is familiar to Brown and find a way to broadcast widely, via helicopter or other means, an impassioned plea for Brown’s surrender.

“Figure out a way to end this thing without more trauma,” he said.