Shot at Police Searching for California Fugitives : 2 Wanted in Montana Manhunt Believed Killed in Fire

Snipers inside a trailer opened fire Saturday on police searching a rugged mountain area for three heavily armed fugitives, then were killed when a fire destroyed the mobile home, authorities said.

Lewis and Clark County police and FBI agents could not immediately determine whether those inside were the people who had been the subject of a one-week manhunt.

“It may be some time before we have positive identification,” said county Coroner M. E. Nelson. “Dental records may be the only way.”

Bodies of Two Found

Undersheriff Ed Schild confirmed that the bodies of two men had been found. Authorities still were searching for a woman seen with the two fugitives, who were believed to be escaped murderers from California.

County officials and FBI agents could not confirm whether the two died from gunshots or the fire.

A special FBI identification unit is expected on the scene this morning, Nelson said.

FBI agents and a Cascade County dog handler approaching the trailer were fired on by automatic weapons.

Authorities said they did not fire any shots at the suspects or fire tear gas into the trailer, but they said several muffled gunshots were heard inside after the fire started.

Fire Started in Trailer

“The fire started from within” and engulfed the trailer, Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Chuck O’Reilly said.

A German shepherd believed to be with the snipers jumped out a window and was the only survivor. The fire had been extinguished, but the rubble was still hot Saturday evening, Schild said.

A special weapons team found no one during a search of the immediate area, he said.

Officers who had surrounded the trailer made phone contact with the occupants, and Harding said that the conversation, along with the dog, led authorities to believe the fugitives were the occupants.

O’Reilly said the trailer was near the campground where deputies fought a four-hour gun battle with the snipers Monday.

Residents Relieved

Residents of the area said they were relieved at the apparent end of six days of fear.

“Everybody is feeling a little at ease, a little bit more than they were before, no doubt,” said Paul Schulte, who owns the Oasis Bar and Restaurant in Wolf Creek. “I still have my .44-caliber Magnum behind the bar though.”

The suspects were identified as convicted murderers Steven Miller, 34, and John (Doc) Whitus Jr., 36, who escaped from a state prison at Vacaville, Calif., in February, 1986. Both were wanted for questioning in the April 23 slayings of a man and woman near Byers, Colo.

An as-yet-unidentified woman was seen with them, along with a dog. Miller was in prison for two 1975 murders, including that of a police officer in Ontario, Calif. Whitus killed two men in 1972 “when a drug deal went sour,” a California official said.