OVERVIEW
- WHAT: A man shot a bartender and three customers; all four died
- WHERE: The Owl Bar in Anaconda
- WHEN: At about 10:30 a.m. on Friday, August 1, 2025
- SUSPECT: 45-year-old Michael Brown of Anaconda
- VICTIMS: Nancy Lauretta Kelley, 64; Daniel Edwin Baillie, 59; David Allen Leach, 70; Tony Wayne Palm, 74
- MOTIVE: Unknown
- STATUS: Manhunt for Brown continues as of Monday evening
On Monday, joint law enforcement teams continued to search the mountains west of town for Brown. Law enforcement says he should be considered armed and dangerous.
Anaconda Deer Lodge Chief of Police Bill Sather gave a brief update Monday evening around 5:30 p.m., addressing the community of Anaconda directly.
Watch the news conference:
“The Anaconda Law Enforcement Officers are working hand in hand with folks from the assisting agencies. I recognize the public wanting regular updates and knowing they haven’t heard from me as much as you’d like,” said Sather. “I am focusing my efforts to find Mr. Brown and our law enforcement officers are doing the same.”
Residents we talked with with expressed frustration with a perceived lack of communication about the status of the case.
Sather noted that his officers have been working around the clock to bring the matter to a close.
“I’m just going to say, we got 20 guys (from our agency) who have all been putting in 18, 19 hours a day,” explained Sather. “It’s important that you know we’re doing everything to keep Anaconda safe. If there is a need to convey a security risk we will make sure that you know.”
Sather did not take any questions from the media, even though we asked if there were any indications Brown was still in the area, and if he was still armed. The chief responded by saying he had to go and it was all under investigation.
Search efforts appeared to continue in the area of Stumptown Road on Monday.
U.S. Senator Steve Daines of Montana addressed the situation on Monday on FOX News, thanking law enforcement for their tireless efforts to locate Brown and indicating infrared cameras and search dogs were being used.
Daines said: “We're hoping that we will bring him and apprehend him, bring him to justice soon. But he's hiding just west of Anaconda. And we pray for the safety of those brave men and women who are operating a 24/7 operation. They're using infrared cameras. They've got dogs. They've had a few hits with the dogs. I'm hopeful that very shortly our law enforcement is going to get this guy and apprehend him and bring him out.”
Governor Greg Gianforte and Attorney General Austin Knudsen will be in Anaconda on Tuesday and briefed on the manhunt.
If you have any information, you can call the tipline at 1-877-wanted2 or 1-877-926-8332.
The Montana Department of Justice shared these photos of the victims:
At this point, authorities do not know of any specific motive for the shootings.
Clare Boyle, the niece of Brown, says that she and her family are heartbroken over the situation and the four lives that were lost.
Boyle said, “My heart breaks for this town. There is no amount of apology or words that could ever describe how sorry I am and how I feel for these families, my own included.”
JESSICA NELSON REPORTS FROM ANACONDA:
She said that Brown suffered from significant mental health challenges, including schizophrenia and PTSD from serving in the Army.
Boyle said Brown moved around a lot and was a military brat, as his father also served.
According to Lt. Ruth Castro, an Army spokesperson, Brown served in the U.S. Army as an armor crewman from 2001 to 2005 and was deployed to Iraq from early 2004 until March 2005.
Brown was in the National Guard from 2006 to March 2009, Castro said. He left military service with the rank of sergeant.
Boyle told MTN that Brown’s schizophrenia worsened after losing his mother. “Mikee’s decline started really heavily when my grandma passed. The trauma from losing his last parent broke Mikee. The VA said he no longer qualified for assistance with obtaining prescriptions and help.”
Boyle said Brown suffered from significant mental health challenges including schizophrenia and PTSD from serving in the Army.
According to Boyle, Brown would have delusions of being a time traveler. She says, “He no longer drank alcohol because it ‘blocked his wizard powers’…Mikee is harmless 99% of the time when others aren’t asking him about and making fun of his delusions.”
Boyle says her family sought help for Brown through both the Montana VA and the Montana State Hospital. “The VA said he no longer qualified for assistance with obtaining prescriptions and help. The Montana State Hospital wouldn’t take him in unless it was a court order. The only way to obtain a court order was for Mikee to become a harm to himself or others. We warned them that a snap could happen and that he was not of sound mind, and we were still left with no answers and nowhere to turn.”
Anyone who sees Brown is advised to call 911 immediately, or call if they have any information regarding his location.
