MONTEZUMA CREEK – Searchers thought they had one suspected cop-killer trapped on an island in the San Juan River, but failed to find either of the two fugitives after scouring the island Friday.

The tracks, found Friday, indicated the fugitives had separated, with one entering the river and reemerging on the island, located seven miles west of Montezuma Creek.

Cattle that had been startled by something near the river alerted searchers to the tracks Thursday afternoon, said Navajo Tribal Police Chief Leonard Butler.

The men were too far away for searchers to determine if they were wearing camouflage, Butler said.

Butler said he believes the men spotted were Alan "Monte" Pilon, 30, of Dove Creek, and Jason Wayne McVean, 26, of Durango. As of Friday, the two men had eluded searchers for 43 days after allegedly shooting Cortez Police Officer Dale Claxton and wounding two Montezuma County sheriff’s deputies May 29 before fleeing into Cross Canyon, west of Cortez. A third suspect, Robert Mason, 26, of Durango, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on June 4 near Bluff, Utah.

SWAT teams from the Navajo Nation, the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, Durango Police Department, Montezuma County sheriff’s office and the San Juan County, Utah, sheriff’s office assisted in the manhunt Thursday and
Friday, Butler said.

When a SWAT team reached the tracks Thursday, they found that the two fugitives had crisscrossed each other several times, but eventually separated where one person had apparently entered the river. More tracks were found on an island, indicating that one of the suspects had floated to the island. But Butler said after Friday’s search that he is certain none of the suspects are still on the island.

Searchers got within 20 yards of the suspects on Thursday, Butler said, and were so close that they could hear brush breaking. The thick brush prevented them from apprehending the suspects, however, and searchers eventually lost the tracks.

Searchers lost the second set of tracks Thursday and never found them again, Butler said. The tracks are not complete footprints, he said, but shallow toe depressions in the sand, a deliberate attempt to hide their tracks.

Butler said seven or eight SWAT team members would use listening devices and night-vision goggles Friday night to monitor about 2½ miles of the river from the ridges overlooking it.

The search was scaled back in order to let other SWAT teams rest after a hot day of searching, he said, but more than 60 searchers would return to the river Saturday afternoon. A full search operation will be performed throughout Saturday night, Butler said.

Two search dogs will be used to track the suspects if more tracks are found, Butler said.

Butler said he believed the suspects were still in the Montezuma Creek area based on the sightings and on a letter he had received from someone in Colorado. Butler said the letter was credible, but refused to comment on its contents until the FBI completed processing it.

The search has focused on Montezuma Creek since June 28, when a 9-year-old girl reported seeing two men wearing camouflage and carrying assault rifles trying to steal a water truck. Tuesday, Navajo searchers spotted two men walking with flashlights between a campfire and the river. A search Wednesday morning revealed a smoldering log from the fire, but no trace of the two suspects.

Butler said the men were not wearing backpacks or carrying rifles when SWAT teams spotted them running across the clearing, indicating that perhaps they are getting assistance from someone.

Butler said more searchers would not be helpful in the capture of Pilon and McVean.

"We’ve shortened the chain of command," Butler said. "All I have is two lieutenants and the SWAT sergeants, and that seems to expedite things. With more people, you end up managing your own people instead of managing the search."