MONTEZUMA CREEK, Utah – More than 60 Navajo Nation special weapons and tactics team members scoured the banks of the San Juan River late Saturday and early today for any trace of two survivalist fugitives suspected to be hiding in the dense brush.

Searchers planned to continue scouring a three-mile section of the river located about seven miles west of Montezuma Creek throughout the night, Navajo Nation Police Chief Leonard Butler said late Saturday.

Authorities believe the suspects move mostly during the night, yet most of the searches have been conducted during the day, when temperatures have consistently reached more than 100 degrees.

Saturday night’s search is the largest nighttime search conducted thus far in the manhunt – which is 44 days old as of Saturday – and Butler admitted that authorities were keeping more of the specifics from the public than in previous searches. Instead of the usual parade of camouflage-clad men with assault weapons charging off into the river, Saturday’s mission was subtle and quiet, with individual teams vanishing into the dusk.

"That’s good, that you don’t see evidence of it (the search)," Butler said.

The exclusively Navajo search teams are looking for any trace of Alan "Monte" Pilon, 30, of Dove Creek and Jason Wayne McVean, 26, of Durango, who have eluded searchers since allegedly shooting Cortez police officer Dale Claxton and wounding two 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 June 4 near Bluff, Utah, after allegedly wounding a San Juan County, Utah, sheriff’s deputy.

SWAT teams from several regional agencies have participated in searches of the San Juan River banks 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 in Montezuma Creek.

The manhunt was scaled back to only seven or eight searchers Friday night so that SWAT team members could rest in preparation for Saturday night’s mission, Butler said.

Butler said Saturday that the search is draining resources from the Navajo Nation, and if fresh tracks are not found, he may send his SWAT teams home.

"Our success tonight will determine whether or not we stay tomorrow," Butler said.

Saturday’s secrecy came after a week of close encounters with the two fugitives near Montezuma Creek, including two separate sightings of two men by Navajo police near the San Juan River. In both sightings, the officers could not determine if the men were Pilon and McVean and were unable to capture them.

Butler said if his teams meet the two suspects, they will employ a modified tactical plan, one involving a different containment strategy and police dogs. In previous encounters the Navajo SWAT teams have been within 20 yards of the men, but darkness and thick brush have prevented any capture.

Two dogs, one a search dog from Descheyne County, Utah, and one a police dog from the Navajo Nation, will be brought to the freshest tracks to see if they can pick up a trail that will lead SWAT teams to the two suspects. Butler said he is optimistic that the search dog would still be able to pick up the scent, even though the tracks were found Friday.

Those tracks indicated the two suspects had split up, with one possibly entering the river and the other disappearing into the dense brush. Butler said they have found no tracks that indicate the suspects have reunited.

Navajo police officers are encouraging people not to raft the section of the San Juan River from Montezuma Creek to Bluff, Butler said.

Butler said that even though searchers had not found any tracks or seen any movement in the search area since Friday, he believes the suspects are still in the area.

"We wouldn’t still be here if I didn’t think they were still here," he said.

One of the most effective ways Navajo Police have found to search through the thick tamarisk and Russian olive trees was by using an Armored Personnel Carrier Wednesday and Thursday, Butler said, but the APC kept overheating. The APC will probably not be used again, he said.

Butler refused to give details of a letter and e-mail he had received from a man in Colorado Monday. That letter led authorities to believe the two suspects were still in the Montezuma Creek area.

A tip late Saturday caused SWAT teams to conduct an unproductive search of a shed near Montezuma Creek.

Butler said he tried to call several Navajo tribal officials Saturday to determine how long the Navajo Nation could afford to pay for the search, but said he could not reach anyone. The search effort undertaken when Robert Mason was found cost $116,000, Butler said, and the Montezuma Creek manhunt is likely to cost more.

"I believe we can resolve this situation,’’ Butler said. "My only concern is the amount of resources it will take to pay for it. It’s getting tight."

Butler said the Navajo police officers have been the most productive members of the search since it came to Montezuma Creek, and he is confident that they will find the two suspects – eventually.