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Montana authorities are expanding a rugged, multi-agency manhunt for a former soldier accused of gunning down four people at a local bar, warning the suspect may be armed with camping gear and survival supplies stolen from a second vehicle.
The Montana Department of Justice revealed Sunday that Michael Paul Brown, 45, fled the Owl Bar shooting Friday night shirtless and barefoot, only to later be seen near a stolen white Ford F-150 loaded with clothing, food and outdoor gear.
“We know Michael Paul Brown was shirtless and barefoot when he fled…,” Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said on Sunday. “We have very good reason to believe that he is clothed now and possibly carrying camping gear. He is probably able to get around undetected.”
Brown remained at large as of Monday, with the manhunt carrying on over the weekend.
VICTIMS OF MONTANA BAR SHOOTING IDENTIFIED AS MANHUNT FOR MILITARY VETERAN SUSPECT CONTINUES
Authorities said that the manhunt for Brown has expanded, with hundreds of local, state and federal officers, including the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, ATF, FBI, U.S. Marshals and local county agencies. Fox News Digital has reached out to the lead agency in the manhunt, the Montana Department of Justice, for comment.
Brown was last seen in “Stump Town,” which lies just west of the town of Anaconda, Montana, which is in southwestern Montana. Authorities said that the terrain is steep, remote and heavily wooded.
“They’re dealing with extremely rugged terrain,” Knudsen said. “Local law enforcement is stretched thin right now.”
GUNMAN SHOOTS MULTIPLE PEOPLE AT MONTANA BUSINESS, AUTHORITIES LAUNCH INTENSIVE MANHUNT
The four victims, 64-year-old Nancy Lauretta Kelley, 59-year-old Daniel Edwin Baillie, 70-year-old David Allen Leach and 74-year-old Tony Wayne Palm, were locals known in the small town of Anaconda, which has a population of approximately 9,000. Kelley was a bartender at the local establishment, with the three other victims patrons, authorities said.
Brown, authorities revealed, lived next door to the bar.
“Everybody knows everybody in a town like this,” one resident told The Associated Press.
Brown’s niece, Clare Boyle, said that her uncle has struggled with mental illness for years, and she and other family members repeatedly sought help.
“This isn’t just a drunk/high man going wild,” she said in a Facebook message to the AP. “It’s a sick man who doesn’t know who he is sometimes and frequently doesn’t know where or when he is either.”
WATCH:
MANHUNT INTENSIFIES FOR ARMY VETERAN SUSPECTED OF KILLING 4 IN BAR SHOOTING AFTER TRUCK FOUND ABANDONED
The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a reward of $7,500 for any information that leads to the arrest or capture of Brown. Residents are encouraged to call 1-877-926-8332 to report a tip.
Residents in the area have been told to stay inside their homes and remain on high alert. He has been described as 5-foot, 10-inches and about 170 pounds, with blue eyes and brown hair.
The state’s attorney general told residents to not approach the armed and dangerous murder suspect, saying, “This is an unstable individual who walked in and murdered four people in cold blood for no reason whatsoever.”
Brown was an armor crewman in the Army from January 2001 to May 2005 and served in the National Guard from April 2006 to March 2008, Army Public Affairs confirmed to Fox News Digital. He deployed to Iraq from February 2004 to March 2005 and left the service with the rank of sergeant.
He also served as an armor crewman in the Montana National Guard from April 2006 to March 2009, officials said.
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