What happened in '71? Now we all want to know

The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office received a bizarre report from a man who said three “undesirable” men from South Africa were flying in Tuesday afternoon, and that they had been trying to meet with members of his congregation from around the country — including Detroit and San Antonio — trying to get information about something that happened in the church in 1971.

The man claimed no knowledge of what specific information they were trying to obtain. He was advised that if the men showed up at congregation members’ homes and they don’t want to speak to them to tell the men to leave their property or they would call police and have them cited for criminal trespass.

A Vonderheide Lane resident northeast of Kila where there was a theft the week prior reported his daughter saw a man in the hay barn wearing all black and a black ski mask who had jumped out and run toward the house. The resident advised police his family owned a gun store and that they had guns in most if not all rooms of their home.

A 14-year-old Willow Glen Drive resident reported a man tried to get him and his two sisters into his truck, telling them, “It’s not safe out here, jump inside my truck and I’ll give you a ride home.” The man was smoking a cigarette and had pushed his coat over something that the boy believed might have been a weapon.

A man walking his dog on Haskill Basin Road in Whitefish reported finding a dead pig dumped in the area. He told police he was concerned someone was using it to bait animals.

Deputies were warned about a man before responding to a physical disturbance on Shady Lane. The man had a history including violent tendencies, a desire to be killed by police and a habit of slipping handcuffs and urinating in police vehicles.

An alternative Olympic event was reported on Ashley Lake Road in Kila, where a 16-year-old boy was seen using his truck to pull his 9-year-old brother on a sled.

A man was transported to the hospital Tuesday morning after being assaulted in Columbia Falls. The man, who had previously cracked several ribs, was punched in the chest, knocking him unconscious.

A man reportedly hit his wife with a hockey stick at their Tronstad Drive home in Kalispell before leaving for the Stumptown Ice Den.

A Dode Road resident in Kalispell returned home after being gone since August to discover winter boots missing and a growing belief that someone had been staying in the home.

The owner of a sand and gravel business on Jellison Road in Kalispell reported someone walked through his business and moved things around. Although nothing was stolen, the man reported thieves had hit other gravel pits.

A Swan Hill Drive resident in Bigfork reported someone illegally took out a credit card in her name and spent $1,300.

Medication was stolen from a vehicle on Beta Road in Hungry Horse.

A theft from a vehicle was reported on Bear Trail in Whitefish.

Kalispell Police Department officers responded to Airport Road late Monday night after what was believed to be multiple suspects tried to break in through the back door of a business. Footprints indicated the suspects were unable to get inside and left through an adjoining parking lot. The suspects damaged a door when they tried to break in.

A concerned woman walking her dog on Crestview Road reported a group of men standing at the end of a driveway gutting a deer, talking about how great it was to let the guts go into the city sewer and not have to worry about it. The report was believed to be inaccurate.

A manager at a U.S. 2 West business found a bandana full of syringes on a concrete wall behind the business that looked like they had been used.

A 25-year-old man was reported for having taken 32 pills, falling down and acting abnormal. It was discovered that the man took the drugs to get high, not to hurt himself.

An overzealous band on Vanderbilt Drive was advised to quiet down for the night after practicing loudly for nearly four and a half hours.

A dog was reported chasing children on Third Avenue West, where it bit an 8-year-old girl, although it did not break the skin.

A 14-year-old boy on Wolfpack Way was reported to have drugs and drug paraphernalia.

A 14-year-old girl was reportedly offered cocaine, first for a fee and then for free, by two freshman boys on Fourth Avenue West.

Someone broke into and tried to steal a pickup truck on Two Mile Drive.

Someone left a U.S. 93 North business without paying an $81 bill.

A man was arrested on a warrant on West Montana Street.

A pair of teenage boys stole two pairs of shoes from a shoe store on North Main Street.

A purse was stolen at a business on North Main Street.

A television was stolen on Ninth Avenue West.

The Whitefish Police Department was dragged into a fowl dispute when a Dakota Avenue resident reported three chickens at large, which he said he would continue watching until he found out whether there was a chicken law. The birds’ owner was located and he was advised to keep them on his own property.

Officers arrested a drunk 20-year-old man after he refused to leave a bathroom inside a U.S. 93 South business.

Someone spray-painted a business on Railway Street.

The Columbia Falls Police Department received a report of lawn furniture stolen from a porch on View Drive.