Divers attempt to recover weapon
Flathead County Search and Rescue dive team member Sam Fussell yells back to other search members on the banks of the Swan River after seeing what he thought was a gun barrel upstream of the Old Steel Bridge on Tuesday afternoon near Bigfork. Authorities were searching for a gun believed to have been used in the murder of 24-year-old Clyde Wilson of Ferndale. Jennifer DeMonte photos/Daily Inter Lake
Officials try to locate gun used in murder
Divers braved the icy waters of the Swan River on Tuesday in an effort to locate the gun investigators believe was used to kill 24-year-old Clyde Wilson of Ferndale.
Authorities allege Ronald Lon Petersen, 19, broke into Wilson?s Meadow Creek Road home on the morning of Dec. 31 and shot him three times with a semi-automatic pistol.
Petersen then dismantled the gun and threw it into the river from the Bridge Street bridge in Bigfork.
Using a series of ropes and pulleys, members of the Flathead County dive team set up search grid Tuesday after simulating the incident with a test weapon.
But after more than four hours of scouring the river bottom, divers ? who were forced to rotate out of the water every 20 minutes to warm up ? were unable to locate any pieces of the weapon. A preliminary search of the river Monday also failed to reveal any results.
Petersen, who has been charged in Lake County with deliberate homicide, was arrested late Sunday by local authorities at Fort Bragg Army Base near Fayetteville, N.C., and is awaiting extradition back to Montana.
According to court documents, Wilson?s girlfriend, 20-year-old Raney Frick, called 911 at about 5:30 a.m. on Dec. 31 to report someone had just shot Wilson and fled the scene.
During interviews with police, Frick said she had fallen asleep watching movies in the living room the night before the shooting. Wilson was reportedly lying next to her.
Awakened by the sound of gunshots, Frick told police she saw an intruder standing in the room and then bolt through the back door.
The television was still on.
Frick?s 5-month-old infant was also at the residence at the time of the incident.
On Jan. 26, authorities received a tip from Petersen?s brother, Ryon Gates. Gates told investigators Petersen confessed to the crime and described details about the shooting not released to the public. Petersen also told Gates the gun he used belonged to Bigfork resident Zachary Forkin, 19.
Deputies searched Forkin?s Marken Loop Road home Sunday, but were unable to find the pistol. Forkin eventually admitted he had loaned the pistol to Petersen, according to court records.
Forkin was arrested in connection to the shooting Sunday, but has yet to be charged, said Lake County Attorney Mitch Young on Tuesday afternoon.
Petersen, a member of the U.S. Army, reportedly stayed with Forkin in Bigfork while he was on leave.
Investigators have not released the reason why Petersen allegedly killed Wilson, but ruled out robbery early into the investigation.
Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com