Authorities warn Montana bar shooting suspect could return to area as manhunt continues

Amid an ongoing manhunt, Montana authorities warned Sunday that Michael Paul Brown, the suspect accused of killing four people in a Montana bar Friday morning, could return to the town of Anaconda, where the shooting occurred.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said at a news briefing Sunday afternoon that the suspect was “an unstable individual who walked in and murdered four people in cold blood, for no reason whatsoever. So there absolutely is concern for the public.”

Knudsen said Brown is believed to be “an armed and extremely dangerous individual” and advised members of the public to remain vigilant and call 911 immediately if they see him.

A $7,500 reward is being offered to anyone with information about Brown, Knudsen added.

Knudsen also identified the four victims of the shooting Friday morning as bartender Nancy Lauretta Kelley, 64, and three patrons: Daniel Edwin Baillie, 59, David Allen Leach, 70, and Tony Wayne Palm, 74. All of the victims were from Anaconda.

Kelley’s daughter, Kristian Kelley, said her mother was a recently retired oncology nurse. She worked as a nurse for around 30 years and got a part-time job as a bartender at the Owl Bar “to fill some of her time.”

“It kept her a little bit social, just seeing people,” Kelley said. Her mother had worked at the bar for around a year and a half, she said.

She first heard of the shooting at her mother’s workplace through a text from a friend.

“My first step was to call her, and I didn’t get an answer,” she said. That is when she drove to Anaconda and found out her mother was a victim.

Kelley said she could never have imagined that such an incident would happen in Anaconda.

“We didn’t even lock our cars outside, you know, or the house, and it’s, I mean, I wouldn’t say it’s dangerous here at all,” she said. “But when people don’t receive services, you know, in rural areas, sometimes this is what happens.”

Knudsen said a motive was still under investigation but noted that Brown was a regular at the bar, as he lived next door. Brown is believed to have lived alone, Knudsen said.

“I think it’s likely that he knew the bartender and these patrons, which makes this even more heinous,” Knudsen said.

Kelley said she knew Brown as someone in the community who would tell in-depth, seemingly made-up stories about his time in the military.

“Maybe they were pretty incredible, so I don’t know, but I think a lot of them were embellished,” she said. “And maybe he believed them. I’m not sure, but he definitely was somebody that needed care.”

Knudsen said that the shooter used a rifle in the shooting and that Brown had access to firearms.

“We’re going to catch this guy. This is still absolutely priority No. 1,” Knudsen said.

A manhunt has been underway since Friday morning, when Brown is alleged to have walked into the Owl Bar at around 10:30 a.m. and opened fire, authorities said.

Authorities said Brown fled wearing a tie-dye shirt, blue jeans and an orange bandana. However, a picture released Saturday by the Montana Department of Justice purported to show him fleeing the scene apparently stripped down to just his boxers.

Knudsen said that the picture was taken “relatively soon” after the shooting and that Brown got rid of some of his belongings and clothes. However, he was able to get his hands on a stolen vehicle that had some clothing in it and is now believed to be fully clothed, Knudsen said.

Law enforcement officers briefly pursued Brown in that vehicle but pulled back when they realized he was most likely armed, Knudsen said. Brown was not in the vehicle when law enforcement finally got to it.

Knudsen did not rule out that Brown may have killed himself but said authorities “are acting under the assumption that he is alive, well, armed and extremely dangerous.”

Brown is known to local law enforcement and has a criminal record, Knudsen said.

Anyone who sees him is urged to call 1-877-wanted2, Knudsen said. As the search continues, Knudsen did not rule out that additional arrests could be made.

Officials have focused the multiagency search on the area off Stumptown Road and expanded it to Barker Lake and the surrounding area. Brown is a resident of the area and familiar with its terrain, Knudsen said in an interview.

“We’ve got a lot of locals on our side,” Knudsen said. “Also, we’ve got a lot of assets in the air; we’ve got a lot of assets on the ground. We’re going to find him.”

Knudsen said he believes Brown is on the run on foot, not in a vehicle.

“These things do not happen in Montana,” Knudsen said about the shooting. “This is extremely, extremely rare and out of the ordinary for us here, and I think that is shown through our law enforcement response.”

Friends said Brown has a history of mental health issues. Shane Charles, who grew up with him in Anaconda and owns another bar, told NBC News that Brown struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Mike was a great guy when he was on his meds. He did have some mental health problems,” Charles said.

Brown’s niece, Clare Boyle, also said Brown struggled with mental health issues, according to The Associated Press.

Brown served in the Army from 2001 to 2005 and was deployed in Iraq from 2004 to 2005, and he was in the Montana National Guard from 2006 to 2009, Army spokesperson Steve Warren said.

CORRECTION (Aug. 3, 2025, 5:20 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated the first name of victim Nancy Lauretta Kelley’s daughter. She is Kristian Kelley, not Nancy.