Search continuing for Byron man on the run for sexual assault

The Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office, community members and now the U.S. Marshals Service are on the lookout for a Byron man wanted for what the Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force is calling “multiple sex crimes against children.”

On Thursday, Nov. 6, the Sheriff’s Office put an alert on the agency’s Facebook page informing the public about an attempt to locate Anthony Pease, who the agency said was evading a felony warrant for a crime against a person.

Pease was last seen in Byron on November 1, the alert said, describing him as a 39-year-old white male, approximately 5-11, 180 pounds, with blonde/red hair and blue eyes. 

Pease fled on foot, the alert read, but could possibly be driving a 2008 blue Jeep Patriot with 11 county plates. 

“We apologize for the lack of details regarding this case, however, due to confidentiality requirements, and to protect the victims/witnesses, this case has been sealed and is currently an active ongoing investigation,” the alert continued. “Any help from the public in executing this warrant and the ability to bring closure to this case would be appreciated.”

If any member of the public sees Pease, they are urged to not make contact with  him and call the Sheriff’s Office at 307-568-2324 or dial 911.

The alert is not about the Anthony Pease held in the Yellowstone County Detention Center in Billings, the alert stated.

A Facebook update on November 10 stated that Pease was still evading law enforcement, and numerous rumored sightings of “suspicious persons” in Byron are related to the public’s awareness of the situation, but none have borne fruit.

On Friday, Nov. 19, the U.S. Marshals Service joined the hunt, issuing an alert from the agency’s Wyoming Fugitive Task Force and offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to Pease’s arrest.

The Marshal’s Service alert states that Anthony Preston Pease, who sometimes uses the alias Anthony Abraham, is wanted for six counts of felony sexual assault involving a minor. The alert states that Pease is a resident of Byron but also has ties to Powell and Cheyenne. It cautions that the suspect has violent tendencies.

Tips may be submitted online to www.usmarshals.gov/tips.

The Sheriff’s Office posted on November 19 that Pease was “still on the run” and that no leads have panned out.

According to reporting by the Powell Tribune, Pease was on parole for a felony count of strangulation of a household member at the time of his flight and that court records show that the conviction stemmed from Pease choking his then-girlfriend with a seatbelt in the Cody area in 2019. He was paroled in May, the Tribune reported.

The search

Sheriff Ken Blackburn explained in an interview Tuesday why his agency has had to be so careful about releasing specific information and maintain confidentiality to protect the victims and witnesses.

“The reason we have to be cryptic is there’s certain state statutes that govern what we can and can’t release for information,” he said. “It’s the law. We’re bound by it, and we’re required to obey those. So what I would refer people to is the flyer and what the U.S. Marshals released, because they’re bound by federal statute, not necessarily state statute, and they’re sometimes able to release a little bit more.”

Blackburn said the search for Pease began the first week in November.

“We were made aware of a crime that had just occurred, and we responded quickly to that scene,” Blackburn said. “And in responding to that scene, we were able to investigate and develop good probable cause that a crime indeed had been committed and that it had been committed by Mr. Anthony Pease, who had fled the scene before we got there and began eluding us.”

Blackburn said as the investigation progressed, the sheriff’s office obtained warrants for Pease’s arrest, adding, “We began searching more intensely and ramping up the pressure and talking to people and looking into things.”

One aspect of the case has disturbed the sheriff.

“As he continued to evade us, it became clear to us that some people were harboring him and assisting him as a fugitive,” Blackburn said. “And I would be very clear to tell people that assisting a fugitive in the state of Wyoming is punishable by the same punishment that the crime itself carries. And so just for a little bit of perspective of what I can release, the crime and penalty for aiding and abetting this fugitive is up to 50 years in the state penitentiary. So it’s not jaywalking that we’re looking for this guy for.”

Blackburn said it has been good to see the U.S. Marshals Service become involved in the case, calling the federal agency “the gold standard of pursuing fugitives,” adding, “That’s what they do, and they have actively become involved in this investigation and are, in fact, assisting us in the investigation and have been doing so throughout the course of it.

“We do know that he was still in the area as of last week.”

Blackburn said the case would benefit from a little more cooperation from agencies in the region.

“Not every law enforcement agency shares the same level of concern as we do for this, and that’s a little bit frustrating,” he said. “Some agencies have been slow to follow up. We believe he’s out of our jurisdiction, but he’s still in the area. We are, in fact, working to develop leads, and we would welcome any leads that would lead us to the arrest and apprehension of Mr. Pease. There is a reward being offered for information that leads to the successful arrest of Mr. Pease so that he can face the charges he’s accused of and that we can help bring a resolution to this situation.”