HELENA — Montana is known for its expansive wilderness and mountainous terrain, so it can be difficult for law enforcement to conduct investigations in the backcountry. The weeklong manhunt for Anaconda shooting suspect Michael Brown demonstrated those challenges.
The Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office recently led a training on how to conduct investigations in challenging environments.
“That training was super paramount to be able to pack as little as possible and yet bring what you need, because over in Anaconda, they are all on foot,” says Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton.
When investigating in a remote, wild area, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack, but that haystack could be hundreds of heavily wooded acres.
Dutton says, “We are taught to look for something as small as a paperclip, and the reason is, if you are focusing on something small, you will see something big.”
The manhunt in Anaconda involved 38 agencies from across Montana and beyond, with resources deployed both on the ground and in the air. Search teams did not just face steep, rocky terrain and dense woods; they also faced the elements like rain, wind, and nighttime lows in the 30s and 40s.
“The challenges that come from investigating a remote area are that you do not control the weather,” Dutton says.
Along with training, Dutton says teamwork is essential in backcountry investigations: “The most important part of this is to establish relationships between local law enforcement, state partners, and federal partners.”
On Friday, that teamwork paid off as an eight-day manhunt came to its conclusion.
