MISSOULA – The Fox television show “America’s Most Wanted” plans to feature the search for a Montana fugitive suspected of shooting at Missoula County deputies this summer in his season-opener this weekend.
A production crew visited Missoula and Flathead counties last week, filming reenactment sequences and interviewing law enforcement officers who are searching for David Burgert. The segment is scheduled to air Saturday.
Officers have been searching for Burgert since June, when he allegedly shot at sheriff’s deputies and led them on a chase along U.S. Highway 12 and then into the woods near Lolo. He faces attempted homicide charges.
Missoula County Sheriff’s Detective Jason Johnson said he worked with television crew members to ensure they received accurate information, especially as they re-enacted the shootout with deputies.
“We were concerned that it would be overly dramatic, but what we found is that they very much wanted it to be accurate,” Johnson said.
He said watching the re-enactment gave him goose bumps.
“Standing there watching them film that re-enactment really changes your perspective of what those deputies went through that day,” Johnson said. “I think people will be surprised when they see what really happened out there on that hillside. Those deputies are certainly brave and courageous. It is unfortunate that he was able to sneak away, but we are going to catch him.”
Burgert, 47, was released from federal prison in March 2010 after serving time on weapons charges related to an all-night standoff with law enforcement officers west of Kalispell. At the time of his arrest, he was manning a mounted machine gun in a wooded hideout.
Burgert was the leader of a militia group called Project 7 that was suspected of plotting to assassinate judges and law enforcement officers in Flathead County a decade ago.
The television crew also interviewed Flathead County Commissioner Jim DuPont, who was sheriff in 2002 when the militia was stockpiling weapons.
Johnson said investigators have learned that Burgert has ties to other states and Canada. The publicity that “America’s Most Wanted” will generate will improve the chances that someone recognizes him, he said.
“It brings out a huge potential for tips to come in that will get this guy caught,” Johnson said.