Manhunt locates murder suspect in shed near Helena

HELENA — Montana law enforcement say a fugitive suspected of killing a man in Great Falls has been captured after a three-day manhunt north of Helena.

Lewis and Clark County Undersheriff Dave Rau says officers found 26-year-old Brandon Conrad Miesmer in a shed near a residence at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday. Rau says Miesmer was within the area law enforcement was searching but did not give a specific location.

Miesmer was arrested without a struggle and will be held at the Lewis and Clark County jail. Rau says his first court appearance is expected Thursday morning.

Miesmer, 26, is charged with deliberate homicide in the shooting death of Cody Steve Bruyere, 26, late Sunday or early Monday. The Cascade County sheriff’s office released the victim’s name on Wednesday.

Over the last two days, officials have been going door-to-door and searching hillsides by ground and by air for the fugitive. More than 110 officers from agencies that include the FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and as far away as Gallatin County were involved in the manhunt.

A man and a woman reported that Miesmer forced them to drive him to Helena, where he carjacked another vehicle Monday morning and drove toward Black Sandy State Park near Hauser Dam, authorities said. He abandoned the car and fled on foot, leaving behind his sandals on the base of a steep hill, Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton said.

Wednesday’s search covered the hills north of Lincoln Road between Interstate 15 and Hauser Dam Road, a rural area with hundreds of scattered year-round homes and seasonal cabins.

Miesmer is 6 feet, 3 inches tall, 205 pounds and bald. He was believed to be armed with a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun and is a military veteran, Dutton said, but he declined to elaborate.

Miesmer was under investigation for drug trafficking, Cascade County Attorney John Parker said in court documents. The shooting victim was believed to be been involved in the sale of illegal drugs as well.

According to charging documents, the victim was shot once in the head and a .45 caliber casing, marijuana and other drug paraphernalia were found nearby.