TV program produces lead in manhunt
Copyright © 1999 The Durango Herald. All rights reserved.

April 13, 1999

By Joshua Moore
Herald Staff Writer

A television re-enactment of the shooting of a Cortez police officer that aired Friday night has generated more than 75 tips, several credible enough to perhaps warrant new searches for the two suspects still at large, officials said.

In addition to the calls received at "Unsolved Mysteries’" hotline in California, several people called the Cortez Police Department to report new information, Cortez Police Chief Roy Lane said.

Lane said the reports included possible sightings and new information about Alan "Monte" Pilon, 31, of Dove Creek, and Jason Wayne McVean, 27, of Durango. Lane said investigators were still analyzing the information Monday, but said some of the reports were credible enough that authorities may undertake some new searches for the two.

Stuart Schwartz, a producer of CBS television’s "Unsolved Mysteries," said Monday that investigators at the hotline in California, including Durango-based FBI Special Agent Dot Graham, were pleased with the number and content of the calls. Schwartz said the episode had received more calls than many other fugitive cases re-enacted by "Unsolved Mysteries." He and the calls came from both Southwest Colorado and throughout the United States.

Pilon, McVean, and Robert Mason, 26, of Durango, are suspected of using an assault rifle to kill Cortez police officer Dale Claxton on May 29 near Cortez. Mason was found dead June 4 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound near Bluff, Utah, but Pilon and McVean remain on the loose.