County aids in search for body

The Mineral County Search and Rescue Team was called on to help look for a body in the Alberton Gorge last weekend in connection with an alleged Missoula murder.

Mineral County Sheriff Hugh Hopwood said that search and rescue team gave up the search for Mike Meadows, of Jackson Hole, Wyo., late Friday afternoon because of cold water temperatures and the unlikelihood of finding anything.

According to complaint records filed by Deputy Missoula County Attorney Andrew Paul on Thursday, a University of Montana student, Cyril Kenneth Richard II, admitted to stabbing Meadows in the stomach with a pocket knife last Wednesday night.

Records indicate Richard later told police that he had dumped Meadows' body off an old railroad bridge into the Clark Fork River in the Alberton Gorge. Police said that they found blood on the railings after Richard was driven out to the site to show officers where he had dumped the body.

The county search and rescue team began immediately looking for Meadows' body by water, land and air, according to Hopwood.

“We've had a search and rescue boat in the Clark Fork River patrolling the Fish Creek Area all the way down to La Vista, looking for any evidence of the body. We've had our search and rescue ground people on the bridges and the roads, looking down into the river to see if they could find anything,” Hopwood said. “We also had a helicopter from the Montana Highway Patrol searching from the air.”

Hopwood said that the search and rescue jet boat was piloted by Mineral County Search and Rescue Technician Mike Byrnes and Mineral County Sgt. Bill Pandis.

Searching some of the area where the body was allegedly dumped was difficult because of the dangerous currents in the water, according to Hopwood. “The main emphasis of our search is mainly below the rapids in the hopes that if this body does wash out of where we believe it was originally put into the river, then we would have a good chance of finding it,” Hopwood said.

The sheriff said that the search was called off Friday afternoon because of the cold water temperatures and the unlikelihood of finding the body due to low stream flows.

“We've suspended the search for now unless we get some more information,” Hopwood said. “I'd hate to put anybody at risk to recover a body.”

Hopwood asked that if anyone was recreating in the gorge and saw anything out of the ordinary, that they should contact the police immediately.

“There's just certain places that you can't get, even with a jet boat like we have,” Hopwood said. “As the weather warms up and people start to recreate, I'd appreciate a call if anyone sees anything out of the ordinary.”

According to police reports, Missoula Police were notified of the alleged murder when one of Richard's neighbors noticed a trail of blood going down a set of stairs to the parking lot in her apartment complex.

The neighbor, who was identified in the report as Lehman, said that she saw a man who looked like he was picking something up out her window around 5:30 a.m. When she went to her car approximately 10 minutes later, she saw the trail of blood and called police, believing that the man she had seen out of her window was attempting to clean up the trail.

According to the report, when police arrived at the scene at around 6 a.m., they followed the blood trail to Richard's front door. When they knocked, Richard answered, and his washing machine was running. The report said that officers turned the washing machine off and found a large pool of blood on the floor next to a bed and a blood trail that lead out of the door.

The report said that Richard complained that his arm hurt and he thought it might be broken, he also showed officers a cut on his chest.

While at the Missoula Hospital receiving treatment, a nurse saw Richard crying. When the nurse asked him what was wrong, Richard replied, “I wish it had not happened.”

According to police reports, Richard was taken back to the police station where he waived his right to council and spoke with detectives. After questioning, he admitted that Meadows was a friend he had met in Jackson Hole, Wyo. who had been living with him for two to three weeks, while he searched for a job in Missoula. The report said that the two had been drinking and watching basketball at the apartment and had spent some time drinking and gambling at West Side Lanes.

According to the police report, Richard said later that evening the two had gotten into an argument because Meadows had not paid any rent money. Richard said that Meadows had come at him with a knife, and that he had wrestled the knife away from him. When Meadows came at him again, this time unarmed, Richard stabbed him in the abdomen.

The police report said that Richard then admitted to wrapping Meadows' body in a blanket and dragging it down to his car. Richard said he then drove to the Clark Fork River and dumped the body.

Richard then said he returned to his apartment and tried to clean up the blood trail from his door and put some of the bloody clothes in the washing machine.

Richard has been charged with murder and tampering with evidence. If convicted, he faces a life term in prison.