On June 12, 2011, David Burgert — a convicted felon and militia leader who hatched a plan to overthrow state and local government a decade earlier — led police on a chase through the forests of western Montana. In a wooded area in the Lolo National Forest, David drove up a hill, got out of his truck and shot at two sheriff's deputies before disappearing into the wilderness.

No one has seen him since.

From the newsroom of the Flathead Beacon comes a new podcast about one of Montana's biggest mysteries: Where is David Burgert?

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Music in this episode includes "Prelude and Action" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

Original music in this episode by Jeremy Reinbolt.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Larry Schwindt was a rookie deputy with the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office on June 12, 2011, when he and his partner got a call about a man illegally camping at a place called Fort Fizzle. Little did Schwindt know the call would change his life forever. A few minutes later, Schwindt was being led deep in the Lolo National Forest by a man named David Burgert, a convicted felon who a decade earlier had organized a militia in hopes of overthrowing the government further north in Flathead County. Just beyond the Lumberjack Saloon, at a place called Wagon Mountain, David ditched his car, fired at the two deputies and disappeared into the woods forever.

In the first episode of Project 7, Flathead Beacon reporters Andy Viano and Justin Franz dive into David’s disappearance in 2011, his upbringing in Ohio and Colorado and his first run-in with the law in Alabama in 1985.

Learn more at project7pod.com

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Do you know where David Burgert is? Email us at project7@flatheadbeacon.com

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The ad music in this episode is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5759-blippy-trance

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a brief stint in prison for breaking into a trailer and stealing a sandwich, David Burgert arrives in the sleepy town of Kalispell, Montana in 1989 looking to start a new life. But David struggles to leave the ghosts of his past behind and quickly spirals out of control. After hitting rock-bottom, David finds solace and companionship in a local Alcoholics Anonymous group. But trouble soon finds David again.

In episode 2 of Project 7, reporters Justin Franz and Andy Viano look at David’s arrival in northwest Montana and his early interactions with law enforcement that led to a fateful night in 2001 that some say is the moment his life took a dark turn.

Learn more at project7pod.com.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Do you know where David Burgert is? Email us at project7@flatheadbeacon.com

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The ad music in this episode is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5759-blippy-trance

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.