In the winter chill of January 1989, the life of Brent Jacobson, a 41-year-old White / Caucasian male, was tragically cut short in the snowy woods of Bonner County, Idaho. A dedicated U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer, Jacobson had volunteered to lend his expertise as an experienced tracker to a manhunt for two dangerous fugitives. The suspects, brothers James and Joseph Pratt, were fleeing from a violent home invasion robbery and kidnapping that had occurred the previous night,
January 11, 1989, in Sagle.
The preceding evening, the Pratt brothers, with their faces obscured by black masks, had broken into a residence, tying up occupants, including children, with tape. After terrorizing the family at gunpoint and stealing a mere $12, they were interrupted by the arrival of sheriff's deputies. In their escape, they shot and wounded one of the home's occupants, took another as a hostage, and engaged in a firefight with a deputy before vanishing into the wooded terrain near Smith Creek. They later released their hostage and continued their flight on foot through the snow.
On January 12th, amidst a severe snowstorm, Jacobson joined the Bonner County Sheriff's Office in the intensive search for the armed and desperate brothers. As daylight began to fade, Jacobson's skilled tracking led him and a sheriff's deputy to the fugitives. They discovered the Pratt brothers asleep under a tree. When the officers identified themselves and commanded the men to surrender, a gunfight erupted. Jacobson was fatally wounded by a shotgun blast from James Pratt.
Following the shootout, the Pratt brothers fled once more but were eventually tracked to a nearby farmhouse where they surrendered to law enforcement. One of the brothers had been wounded in the exchange of fire. Both James and Joseph Pratt were arrested and subsequently faced justice for their crime spree. They were charged with first-degree murder for the death of Officer Brent Jacobson, in addition to numerous other felonies including robbery, kidnapping, and attempted murder. In June 1989, both were convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
