GREAT FALLS — Detectives with the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office were contacted on Friday, August 13, by the "person of interest" driving the brown Chevy truck depicted in the photographs that were released to the public.
The man cooperated with investigators and provided detailed information proving that he was not in Belt at the time of the incident. The attempt to locate has been canceled for this person and his brown truck.
The investigation continues. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 406-454-6978.
(FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021) Cascade County Sheriff's deputies responded to the town of Belt at about 2 p.m. on Thursday for a report of a man who tried to grab a little girl off of her bike.
On Friday afternoon, Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter hosted a news conference at Castner Park in Belt. He said that the man may have been driving a light brown/pewter-colored pickup truck with a missing tailgate, and that the truck may have had Montana county #8 license plates (Fergus County).
“We had a witness in the area that immediately saw that vehicle flee and was able to obtain some pictures,” Slaughter explained. “We have been in constant contact with the Fergus County Sheriff’s Office.”
The girl told deputies she was riding her bicycle with her friends near the park, and got separated from her friends and went to turn around near the campground by the baseball field.
The man walked to the girl, grabbed her arm, and reportedly said, “Come with me." The girl said no and pulled her arm away from the man, and he then ran away. He was last seen running toward Belt along the dike.
The man is said to be in his 30s, about 6' tall, between 250 and 300 pounds, with brown shaggy hair and a medium-length brown beard. He was wearing work boots, saggy and faded/tattered jeans, a gray shirt, and a leather bracelet that featured a dog. The girl also said he had a deep, scratchy voice.
Slaughter said, "If people live in this area and they have Ring doorbell cameras or they have any type of surveillance camera in the area (or) anywhere in the community, please, please go check your cameras and see if you see a suspect that possibly matches this description in the area."
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 406-454-6978.
