Sheriff shortage leaves gaps in service, housing needed

The Missoula County Sheriff's Office reserves three deputy jobs for the Seeley-Swan Valley, but since May just one officer lives in the area full-time, and sometimes there is no law enforcement on patrol.

With the high price of housing, there's a chance that there will be no resident sheriff deputies in the future, although there will always be patrol cars in the area, according to Missoula County Sheriff Jeremiah Petersen.

The sheriff's office hopes to hire a second Seeley Lake deputy from its new class of trainees. The class is "unprecedented" in size after nine deputies left the department in one year, according Petersen.

"Everyone is having to pull a little extra, and it's not an ideal scenario," Peterson said. "And it's really not ideal with the (Salmon Lake) construction."

Two Seeley Lake Officers have left since September. Deputy Heath Hanson retired in May 2023. Deputy Steve Gorr moved back to Michigan in December 2022 after Petersen said he failed to find a home to buy in Seeley Lake.

"It was a huge, huge loss," Petersen said.

With Sergeant Bob Parcell as the only county law enforcement living in the area, Peterson reassigned Deputy Mike Sunderland to work in Seeley full-time. Sunderland previously worked in Seeley from 2016 to 2018, but has since moved to Missoula and commutes everyday.

A third patrol car has been assigned to Seeley Lake on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, but that support could change with events or other needs across the county.

Sometimes, there is no officer on patrol in the area, which Petersen said has been the case in recent history.

Seeley Lake resident Sarah Cooper said the sheriff's office couldn't respond on the same day when she found a man wandering around her property around 8 p.m. on a July evening.

"It took me a second to realize the guy wasn't one of my kids," Cooper said, adding that she was close enough to see his face. "I yelled at him and he took off running into my neighbor's property."

Cooper called 911 and she said a deputy from Missoula answered. After a quick discussion, the deputy told Cooper that there was no officer in the area. The earliest someone could check in on her was the next morning.

She said she didn't sleep much that night, concerned that whoever was looking around her place might return. Cooper said she is a single mom, and the encounter left her feeling unsafe for herself and her children.

The next day both Parcell and Sunderland came and took her statement, which Cooper said she appreciated. She also said the experience opened her eyes to the lack of law enforcement in the area.

"It made me realize that there are times when there isn't anyone," Cooper said. "I feel like this community, especially in the summer, should have someone on call."

Petersen said in the past Seeley sheriff deputies have been on call 24 hours a day, a practice the department has tried to move away from. More Seeley patrols could be in place with another resident deputy, but Petersen said there will still be gaps in patrol when the department is fully staffed.

There is also support from other law enforcement branches. Outside of the Sheriff's Office, a Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer is also cross deputized with the county to enforce state codes.

Other law enforcement officers have been called in temporarily for the Colt Fire.

Petersen said more and more federal law enforcement officials have been cross deputized.

"It all essentially goes back to manpower," Petersen said.

Petersen said the Seeley Lake job is a different gig than the rest of the county. People must respect you to do your job, Petersen said, but you can't go overboard or you will alienate everyone.

"It takes a unique personality to do it," Petersen said.

Another barrier to the job is housing, which costs more in Seeley Lake than Missoula. Peterson recalled how the sheriff had been lucky in the past, as Parcell and Sunderland lived in Seeley before becoming deputies.

With little home inventory, Petersen said the Sheriff's Office needs to think outside of the box to get housing. Peterson said the county hopes to partner with the Forest Service, Pyramid Lumber, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the local schools to build a housing block on federal land.

Petersen also needs a person willing to relocate to Seeley, which he hopes to secure in the county's new batch of recruits. Since December, the Sheriff's Office has hired nine new recruits.

There are 60 sworn officers county wide, Petersen said, including himself and the undersheriff, so he said the new recruits will likely add a lot of depth to the department. It takes roughly nine months and $100,000 to train each deputy.

The office has advertised the Seeley job before, like when Deputy Gore left in 2022, and received no interest. The conversation on whether a Seeley sheriff deputy will still be around is in progress, but Petersen said the department will continue to send patrol cars to keep a law enforcement presence in the area.