This Movie Star Quietly Moved Back to Montana

A multi-year effort to secure a piece of Montana firefighting… and movie history… will be celebrated this weekend, as the Museum of Mountain Flying welcomes the A-26 tanker that reached star status in the 1989 film "Always".

The powerful tanker was the "hero" plane, flown by Richard Dreyfuss in the first part of the Steven Spielberg film filmed in Libby.

"Not only a movie plane, but it was actually a working fire bomber, owned, I think, most of the time in Montana by Denny Lynch, Lynch Aviation out of Billings." -Bryan Douglass, Museum of Mountain Flying

 

Douglass says the museum discovered the plane in Texas, when they met the owner during inspections on the "Miss Montana".

"We tried to talk him into donating it to the museum back then, and he, of course, didn't want to," Douglass explains. "But he wasn't flying it. And so, last year, he put it up for sale, and we worked out a deal with him, and found a supporter to donate most of the money, and I think he wanted it to come here anyway, because he knew that we'd be the probably most likely place to preserve it."

The A-26 still bears the "Fire Eater" logo from the movie and restoration will be the next project for the museum at the Missoula Montana Airport.

     A public "welcome party" will happen at the museum hanger at the Missoula airport Saturday evening from 6 to 9 pm.

Polson Police continue to investigate fatal shooting

Polson Police are continuing to investigate yesterday's shooting that left one person dead, with authorities saying they have two people in custody as they sort out the details.

Police responded to the shooting around 8:30 on Fifth Street East, finding the victim and providing initial first aid. He was rushed to St. Joseph's Medical Center but was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.

     No names have been released.

Seeley hunters face MULTIPLE grizzlies

It's bad enough to have one grizzly bear running in your direction. But two hunters faced three bears heading right at them on a trail near Seeley Lake.

Montana FWP says the hunters were returning to retrieve a deer they'd harvested earlier on Wednesday on the Pyramid Peak trail when they saw the bears 100 yards off, running their way. The hunters say they tried to wave the grizzlies off, but they kept coming, so they opened fire, possibly killing two of the bears before getting out of the area.

     FWP has posted warnings in the area.

READ MORE: Grizzly Confrontations Spiking in Montana

Hardin Police make arrest in a big graffiti case

Hardin Police say they've arrested a 15-year-old teen for last week's graffiti spree that created damage across town.

Chief Paul George says investigators were able to use surveillance video from several properties that helped identify the suspect, and he's encouraging residents to continue calling in their tips because it can be the "piece of the puzzle" that helps to solve a crime.

Good port in a Montana storm

Travelers on one very lonely stretch of Montana road are getting a new stopping spot. As JD Knite reports, it could be a welcome port in the middle of a winter storm, with a location right at Bowman's Corner.