Deaths in the family

The Green River Police Department mourns the deaths of two of their own, one a respected detective and the other a beloved drug dog.

Tuesday night, police chief Chris Steffen told the Green River City Council of retired Lt. Mont Mecham’s death in Idaho Falls, Idaho, Monday.

Mecham was shot while on duty in 1996, an injury a teary-eyed Steffen said “is what probably ended his life.”

Mecham was one of two officers shot during a confrontation with Steven Mitchell Oct. 14, 1996. According to a Green River Star article published Oct. 17, 1996, Mecham was shot by Mitchell, armed with a shotgun, after being let into the home by Mitchell’s mother. The attack resulted in Mecham receiving gunshot wounds to the left side of his head, face, neck and chest. He was life-flighted to Salt Lake City where he received surgery for his injuries. Another GRPD officer, Patrol Sgt. Dave Hyer was also injured during the confrontation, receiving an gunshot wound to his left arm.

At the time, Mecham was the head of the GRPD’s detectives and was named Wyoming Peace Officer of the Year by the Peace Officers Association one month prior to the confrontation with Mitchell. 

Mecham was also a key investigator in bringing James Robert Duke to justice for the 1996 murders of his wife and child. In an interview with the Associated Press for an article dated Dec. 22, 2002, Mecham had said Duke’s original story of going on a family picnic at Lost Dog didn’t add up because of how dangerous the cliffs are and how a parent wouldn’t want their small child playing around the area. While he wasn’t assigned to the initial investigation into the two deaths, as it was in the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office’s jurisdiction, Mecham would interview Roger Brauburger years after their deaths when Duke asked Brauburger to kill Duke’s parents for insurance money. During his conversations with Brauburger, Duke revealed he murdered his family, a statement Brauburger relayed to Mecham. Braubuger also told Mecham that Duke had approached him years before to kill his family, a secret he hadn’t revealed to anyone.

Brauburger refused and weeks later, Duke’s family was dead at the bottom of the Lost Dog cliffs.

According to his obituary, Mecham retired in 2003 and returned to Shelly, Idaho, where he started his law enforcement career in 1970.

“He meant a lot to the department,” Steffen said of Mecham.

Friday, the department’s drug dog Melanie died. Steffen said they’re not sure what caused the dog’s death, but said the entire department was taking the loss hard.

Melanie was paired up with Officer Brad Halter, living with Halter and his family when the two were off duty. Melanie joined the GRPD in 2013 when she was three and a half years old.

“She was a very valuable drug K9,” Steffen said.

Steffen said the department will have to get creative with funding to bring another drug dog to Green River.