One of the victims of a mass shooting at a bar in Anaconda was a Columbia Falls native. David Leach, 70, was one of the four victims of the shooting at the Owl Bar on Aug. 1.

Leach  was born in Whitefish and graduated from Columbia Falls in 1973. He was remembered as a good athlete, playing baseball, football, track and basketball. He was coached in Little League by his father Don Leach. His passion for basketball was developed under basketball coach Ralph Johnson.  He was a three-year letterman at for the Wildcats in  basketball and also lettered in football and track, his obituary noted. 

“My thoughts and prayers to the Leach family ... Dave was a good friend and teammate of mine while going to school in Columbia Falls! What a tragedy,” classmate Rick Blades said in a post on Facebook. 

In a subsequent interview, Blades said Leach was “a very nice guy. He was liked by everyone.” 

A September 1972 photo by Mel Ruder shows Leach catching the first touchdown pass of the football season from Blades against Cut Benk. Leach was a tight end for the Wildcats and both were seniors. 

“He was also a good basketball player,” Blades recalled. “Kind of quiet. Very good athlete. Good teammate. Came from a nice family.” 

Leach’s father ran an upholstery shop in Columbia Falls when he was growing up. 

Leach attended Utah Technical College in Provo, Utah. He received a certificate in Heating and Air Conditioning. He then worked in the HVAC field for several years. Later working for Caterpillar Inc. in Denver, Colorado, according to his obituary.   

The shooting made national news after a week-long manhunt for the alleged assailant Michael Paul Brown, 45, of Anaconda. 

Montana authorities have not said what sparked the 10:30 a.m. shooting, which killed a female bartender and two other male patrons. They were identified as Nancy Lauretta Kelley, 64; Daniel Edwin Baillie, 59; and Tony Wayne Palm, 74. 

Brown's niece, Clare Boyle, said Kelley worked as an oncology nurse before becoming a bartender to fill free time in her retirement and that she was a close family friend who helped Brown's mother when she was sick, the Associated Press reported. 

After the shooting a massive manhunt ensued. It took a week to find Brown, who was taken into custody without incident at 2 p.m. Aug. 8  on a property adjacent to Montana Highway 1 west of Anaconda, the Anaconda Leader reported. 

Brown lived next door to The Owl Bar, served in the Army as an armor crewman from 2001 to 2005 and deployed to Iraq from early 2004 until March 2005. He also was in the Montana National Guard from 2006 to 2009, according to the Associated Press. 

Leach will be interred at Mt Olivet Cemetery in Anaconda. The family will have a private memorial service at a later date. 

His full obituary is at: longfellowfinneganriddle.com/obituary/David-Leach

    The first touchdown of the season resulted from a pass caught by Dave Leach thrown by Rick Blades against Cut Bank. (Mel Ruder photo)