4-Day Manhunt Yields No Confirmed Sighting of Montana Suspect

The New York Times ^ | Aug. 5, 2025, 2:54 p.m. ET | Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs and Jake Ellison

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The man accused of fatally shooting four people in a bar disappeared into a rugged forest. An official said the search for him was law enforcement’s “top focus.”

Up in the wooded mountains of Montana, the police have scoured cabins, trailed search dogs and peered from a helicopter, but have not produced a confirmed sighting of the Army veteran who they believe killed four people at a neighborhood bar last week.

On Tuesday, as the search entered its fifth day, officials said at a news conference that they believed they were on the right track, even though the suspect, Michael P. Brown, had eluded capture since Friday, when the shooting took place in the small city of Anaconda, Mont.

Austin Knudsen, the attorney general of Montana, said Tuesday that some police officers who had joined the search would need to return to their home jurisdictions. But he maintained that the manhunt was law enforcement’s “top focus in the entire state of Montana.”

The authorities continue to operate under the assumption that the suspect is alive, armed and extremely dangerous, he said.

Mr. Brown, 45, is believed to have fled to a mountainous area west of Anaconda known as Stump Town, after walking into a bar two doors down the street from his home on Friday and fatally shooting a bartender and three patrons with a rifle.

Officials have said the suspect may have camping gear with him. They have been combing the forests and hills near Anaconda, which are dotted with cabins, lakes, hiking trails and abandoned mine shafts from the early 1900s, when the region became known for its wealth of copper and other metal ores.

Mr. Knudsen said no evidence had been found to suggest that Mr. Brown had broken into any of the mountainside cabins that the police...

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Check the bear scat.

[riverrunner]

I have spent time hunting and fishing in the area plenty of places to hide.

Winter is a whole different story.

coming sooner then one thinks.

[Cold Heart]

I understand there are many mines in the area. Reminds me of when I entered an old, small gold mine in Eastern Oregon where the mine got lower and narrower. I was bent over until my back touched the ceiling and it came down on me.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Lots of rugged country.

[Billthedrill]

Oh, yeah. Come winter he’ll be breaking into unoccupied cabins for supplies. Until then he could be mighty difficult to find. If he has help, i.e. somebody to do shopping for him occasionally, no one but that individual might see his face again for a very long time.

[Verginius Rufus]

Meanwhile they have caught the suspect in the quadruple murder in Tennessee. There are no mountains in that part of Tennessee.

[SaxxonWoods]

Bloodhounds would find him, dead or alive.

[kawhill]

“but have not produced a confirmed sighting of the Army veteran who they believe killed four people at a neighborhood bar last week.” I’ve got to wonder what set this boy off?

[ProtectOurFreedom]

“Winter is a whole different story. Coming sooner then one thinks.”

Indeed. It’s a lot cooler today than it was in July here in North Idaho. There’s almost a chill in the air and I had my first thought so winter coming.

We are 175 miles NNW from Anaconda. We drove through Anaconda a couple weeks ago on our way down to the Big Hole Valley and staying at a ranch in the south end of the Bitterroot Valley.

[desertsolitaire]

Eric Rudolph hid for 5 years before getting caught. But it was considerably warmer where he hid.

[DesertRhino]

His book is unbelievable. Why he did the bombings, how to knew he had to flee immediately. The boredom and starvation in the mountains and how he hid out. How he eventually started stealing grain from silos here and there.
Then eventually he started making forays into a small town, eating from dumpsters behind grocery stores. He thought about making more bombs, and had the materials.
But his motivation was spent and he just didn’t want to anymore.
He finally got caught while on a a foray into town.
Grim and traffic tale.

People who think they are going to flee into the woods should read it.

http://shotgunmilitia.com/docs/EricLinesOfDrift.pdf

[mowowie]

Another one hiding in the woods?

[DesertRhino]

Grim and tragic that is. It also talks a lot about how he got there. And how he was actually a functional normal guy at one point, and about a woman he loved walked out. It killed him inside.
And another really close male friend of his he thought he could count on. He sneaked in to the town he lived in to get supplies and news. The friend turned on him and called the cops right away.
He was broken, alone and starving most of the time.

The book is banned from sale everywhere. But it shouldn’t be. It’s a true tragedy any would be imitator would read and say no thanks.

[Bodega]

I wondered the same thought. I wonder why we don’t know more than we do? I have actually tried to find more information. Not happening on my watch!

[Secret Agent Man]

I can envision ways to hide out in the mines.

[Round Earther]

Michael Brown is the Bryan Kohberger of Montana.

[mabarker1]

Check the bear scat.

And if it doesn't contain a whistle then that just means that the Bear ate a human that didn't have a whistle when they were eaten.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Check if the scat smells like pepper spray.