High speed chase crosses Continental Divide

A 34-year-old Seeley Lake man was taken into custody Feb. 13 following a 70-mile high-speed pursuit from Browning up and over the Continental Divide and down through the Middle Fork canyon.

John Jack Alexander Saxten IV’s black Toyota Tundra was stopped about two miles east of West Glacier after Flathead County sheriff’s deputies set spike strips on U.S. 2, causing three of Saxten’s tires to blow out. He was apprehended without further incident and transported to the Glacier County Detention Center in Cut Bank.

According to Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton, the incident began when his office received a call about 10 a.m. from a woman living near Craig who was Saxten’s ex-girlfriend. She reported receiving a text message from Saxten threatening to harm the woman’s current boyfriend.

Saxten, who had been living in Craig for the past three weeks, was believed to have a 12-gauge shotgun in his possession. Dutton said his office is also investigating a possible break-in at a residence around Craig.

Dutton’s office issued an attempt-to-locate alert at 11 a.m. About 40 minutes later, the Glacier County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a man wearing a ski mask stopping his vehicle in the middle of the road near Browning, exiting his vehicle and brandishing a shotgun. Browning is more than 150 miles north of Craig.

A mutual assistance call was issued, and the Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services and Montana Highway Patrol joined Glacier County sheriff’s deputies in pursuing Saxten’s vehicle west on U.S. 2 and across the Flathead County line at Marias Pass. The Glacier County sheriff’s office requested assistance from Flathead County.

Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Dutton said last week that Saxten was charged with two misdemeanors — violation of privacy in communication and trespass. Glacier County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Judd Milender said Saxten was facing multiple felonies and misdemeanors and was being held in the county detention center.