Trooper's funeral is planned for Tuesday

Funeral services for a Montana Highway Patrol trooper killed in the line of duty are at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Christian Center Assembly of God Church in Kalispell.

Trooper Evan F. Schneider, 29, was one of three people killed in a head-on collision on U.S. 2 near Bad Rock Canyon on Aug. 26.

Tuesday's ceremony will include the Montana Highway Patrol honor guard and law enforcement personnel from across the state.

After the church services, a procession expected to include hundreds of participants will travel along U.S. 93 from the church northward to Glacier Memorial Gardens.

The highway procession is expected to begin at about 4:30 p.m.

The Kalispell Police Department advises that motorists intending to use U.S. 93 - between the church on Summit Ridge Drive and the cemetery on U.S. 93 north of West Reserve Drive - should find alternate routes.

Schneider and the driver of the other vehicle, 42-year-old Roy Allen Moore of Hungry Horse, were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. Moore's passenger, 30-year-old Ginger Wilborn of Hungry Horse, suffered major head trauma and was airlifted to Kalispell Regional Medical Center, where she died Thursday evening.

The search for a light-colored car traveling immediately in front of Schneider when the crash occurred continues, investigators said Friday.

The car was pictured on Schneider's on-board video camera, Flathead County Undersheriff Pete Wingert said.

Investigators will forward the tape to the FBI in hopes that technicians there will enhance the footage enough to determine the car's make, model, and license-plate number.

While Schneider was pursuing a vehicle at the time of the crash, it is unknown whether it was the same car pictured in the video. What caused the pickup to veer into oncoming traffic is unknown, but the crash was recorded on the video, Wingert said.

Investigators interviewed two drivers who were in the area at the time of the crash, but are looking for additional witnesses. Anyone with information pertaining to the crash is encouraged to call the Flathead County Sheriff's Office at (406) 758-5610.

Schneider's death marks the second time in less than a year that a Highway Patrol trooper has been killed in the line of duty in Flathead County. He was the sixth trooper to lose his life in the line of duty since the Highway Patrol was created in 1935.

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