Suspect arrested in Moose City break-ins

A man wanted in connection to a string of burglaries to cabins in Moose City was arrested Friday after apparently spending almost a week in the wilderness along the U.S.-Canadian border.

John Paul Lynn, 44, is accused of breaking into several cabins and shooting at the long-closed Trail Creek border station, north of Polebridge.

Lynn is being held in the Flathead County Detention Center on suspicion of assault with a weapon and burglary pending formal charges by the Flathead County Attorney's Office.

Lynn, a U.S. citizen, could also face federal charges for possessing a weapon inside Glacier National Park, damaging government property and illegally crossing the border.

Flathead County Sheriff's deputies were called to Moose Crossing on the morning of Aug. 17 after a man and his son reported confronting Lynn, armed with a .22 caliber rife, in the kitchen of a neighboring cabin.

The men, who were also armed and on a rafting trip, had heard shots nearby and went next door to investigate, according to investigative reports.

When confronted, Lynn allegedly pointed the rifle at the man and then retreated across the North Fork of the Flathead River into Glacier National Park and north across the Canadian border.

Investigators believe Lynn had already broken into at least two cabins and several outbuildings - spending the night in one and taking food and alcohol from others. He had also attempted to shoot the lock off an old, unused U.S. Customs and Border Protection station and pry open a window, but did not get inside.

Flathead County Sheriff's deputies, rangers from Glacier National Park and the U.S. Forest Service, and a U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter were unsuccessful in the Aug. 17 search for Lynn.

Then, on Aug. 22, a Glacier National Park crew clearing brush on the boundary between the U.S. and Canada noticed a man with a rifle and pack cross the border on the park side of the North Fork. Federal agents tracked Lynn into Glacier National Park and took him into custody.

Lynn was detained by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents until his arrest by Flathead County Sheriff's deputies.

Lynn has two prior burglary convictions in Flathead County. In November 2000, Lynn was ordered to serve a three-year deferred sentence after pleading no contest to burglary in March 2000 burglary a 10 year sentence with six years suspended after pleading guilty to burglary in September 2000.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com