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.

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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

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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/

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For much of 2001, a conflict was brewing between David Burgert and law enforcement in the Flathead Valley. Early in the year, David got into a physical confrontation with some cops at his home in Kalispell. Later, in November, the local search and rescue team refused his assistance when a young boy was lost in an area David was familiar with; the boy later died. And finally, on Nov. 27, 2001, David was pepper-sprayed and arrested in downtown Kalispell before spending a night in jail. Friends say that night was a breaking point for David.

The 1990s and early 2000s were also a breaking point for extremism in the Inland Northwest. In episode 3 of Project 7, reporters Andy Viano and Justin Franz look at the events that pushed David toward extremism and the people who welcomed him into the fold.

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/

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Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, anti-government extremists were among federal law enforcement’s top concerns before everything changed on Sept. 11, 2001. Yet regardless of what law enforcement was focusing on after the terror attacks, there was a growing threat in Kalispell as David Burgert stockpiled weapons and turned a fledgling militia into an army to deliver revenge. And just as his militia appeared to be ramping up to a fight, an unexpected informant emerged to send David Burgert on the run.

In episode 4 of Project 7, reporters Justin Franz and Andy Viano look at how the 9/11 terror attacks impacted David Burgert and what happened when he went on the lam in an effort to avoid the law.

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.

Project 7, the six-part mini-series from the Flathead Beacon, will return with Episode 5 on May 13.

Until then, here are a pair of segments from bonus episodes of the show that are released each week for members of the Flathead Beacon Editor's Club. Bonus episodes include in-depth conversations with the show's hosts, interview clips that could not fit into the regular episode and other related conversations. To join the Editor's Club or get more information, visit beaconeditorsclub.com.

To learn more about Project 7 or hear past episodes, visit 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.

For more than a year, David Burgert had been stockpiling weapons and making a list of public officials he wanted to assassinate in an apparent attempt to overthrow the government. But it all came crashing down in February 2002, when a close friend of David went to the FBI and told them about his plans. After an all-night standoff with police, David is arrested and spends nearly a decade behind bars. When he gets out in 2010, David is jobless, homeless and aimless. After bouncing around Montana for a year, he decides to head out to the Lolo National Forest in June 2011 where he eventually gets into a shootout with police and disappears into Montana lore.

In episode 5 of Project 7, reporters Andy Viano and Justin Franz look at the days leading up to David Burgert’s mysterious disappearance.

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.

Nine years ago, David Earl Burgert Jr., a former militia leader and convicted felon, disappeared in the mountains of Montana. No one has seen him since. In the years since that day in June 2011, Burgert's legend has grown and the hunt for answers has continued, but so far, it has only turned up more questions.

In the final episode of Project 7, Flathead Beacon reporters Justin Franz and Andy Viano look back at nearly 18 months of reporting and ask the people who knew him what they think happened to Burgert. Is he dead? Or is he alive and drifting amongst us unnoticed?

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.