On a tragic day in Lewistown, Montana, David Byron Sessions, a 52-year-old Caucasian male, lost his life in a fatal shooting on March 14, 2020. The incident prompted a swift investigation by local law enforcement, leading to the identification of a person of interest.
Authorities began a search for 47-year-old Douglas John Foster, who was quickly named as a suspect in Sessions' death. A warrant for deliberate homicide was issued for Foster, who was described as an avid outdoorsman with extensive knowledge of the remote Missouri Breaks region, raising concerns that he might attempt to hide in unoccupied buildings along the Missouri River. Law enforcement officials warned the public that Foster should be considered armed and dangerous. His vehicle, a 1995 green Toyota Tacoma with a flatbed, was also reported to be seen leaving the residence where the shooting occurred.
Residents in several rural counties, including Fergus, Petroleum, Garfield, Blaine, and Phillips, were put on high alert as the manhunt for Foster intensified.
The search for Foster came to a dramatic and fatal conclusion the following day in Dillon, Montana. A concerned citizen reported a suspicious man who resembled the homicide suspect at a local business. As law enforcement, including a Dillon police officer and a Beaverhead County sheriff's deputy, attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle described by the caller, the situation escalated. Foster reportedly turned his vehicle around quickly, and officers heard two gunshots. In response, the officers used lethal force.
Foster was shot and killed by the officers, bringing the search to an end. The officers involved in the shooting were not injured. The Montana Division of Criminal Investigation was tasked with investigating the officer-involved shooting. As is standard procedure, the officers who fired their weapons were placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
