A federal grant will provide county law enforcement agencies with $12,667 to help cover expenses during the ongoing manhunt for fugitives sought in the killing of a Cortez police officer.

La Plata County commissioners Monday approved the application for the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, which has already approved the money.

The law enforcement grants can be given for expenses incurred during training, overtime, equipment, crime prevention, drug prevention and other areas, said Joanne Spina, county administrative assistant.

The sheriff’s office will receive $8,979, the Durango Police Department $3,402 and the Ignacio Police Department $286.

"It’s going to help considerably on the overtime situation," La Plata County Sheriff Duke Schirard said in a telephone interview Monday. "Anything’s going to help."

The Bayfield Marshal’s Office and the Southern Ute Police Department are also eligible for grant money, but do not have overtime expenses in the manhunt.

Schirard said the county’s grant share is about one-third of the estimated $25,000 to $30,000 his department has spent in overtime while assisting in the search, which began May 29. That includes manpower, investigations and surveillance.

Schirard said with the grant money, and with a smaller payroll because of a shorthanded department the last two months, he should be able to make his budget for the year.

Two of the fugitives – Jason McVean, 26, of Durango; and Alan "Monte" Pilon, 31, of Dove Creek – have eluded authorities for 88 days since the May 29 incident.

Schirard said federal authorities are working on three possible scenarios: the two are dead, possibly from suicide, and their bodies are in a cave somewhere; the two are long gone from the area, maybe out of the country; or they are still holed up in the Four Corners region.

"I don’t necessarily subscribe to any of (those theories)," Schirard said. "But I certainly don’t have any reason to refute any of the above."

A local five-person advisory board made the recommendation on how to spend the money.

The advisory board consists of Lt. Kelly Davis of the sheriff’s office, District Attorney Sarah Law, 6th Judicial District Chief Probation Officer Steve Brittain, Bev deGraw of the Ignacio School District and Bruce Anderson of Friends of D.A.R.E.

Commissioners appointed the board several weeks ago as part of the federal requirements in distributing the grants.

The Local Law Enforcement Block Grant is for expenses incurred by county law enforcement agencies from October 1996 through September 1998.