ANACONDA — The week-long manhunt for Michael Brown, the Anaconda shootings suspect, came to a close Friday. Lewis & Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton said that law enforcement has taken Brown into custody.
The apprehension was confirmed by the Montana Department of Justice, who said in a news release that Brown was arrested near the search area in Anaconda at about 2 p.m.
John Emeigh reports from the scene:
He is now in custody of Anaconda-Deer Lodge County authorities.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and other officials will conduct a news conference at 5:30 p.m. to provide further details.
The news conference will be live-streamed on KTVH and other MTN News websites.
Knudsen released the following statement: “I am proud of the unrelenting law enforcement effort this week to find and arrest Michael Paul Brown. The support we’ve seen for the community of Anaconda from across the state and the nation has also been remarkable. The families and friends of the victims remain in my prayers.”
(Michael Brown taken into custody)
Brown is accused of killing four people at The Owl Bar in Anaconda one week ago.
According to the Montana Department of Justice, at about 10:30 a.m. on Friday, August 1, 2025, a man walked into the Owl Bar in Anaconda and began shooting, killing four people. The man then fled the scene in a pickup truck to the west of town, into the surrounding mountains.
The victims were identified Sunday as Nancy Lauretta Kelley, 64, Daniel Edwin Baillie, 59, David Allen Leach, 70, and Tony Wayne Palm, 74.
Hundreds of personnel from more than 30 agencies participated in the manhunt for Brown over the last week.
Officials provided an update earlier this week:
Brown’s family told MTN he was an Army veteran who suffered from significant mental health challenges, including schizophrenia and PTSD.
His family told MTN they had sought help for Brown through both the Montana VA and the Montana State Hospital, but were not able to get assistance.
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.
Editor’s note: This is a developing story.
