u/Dry_Cranberry3697

Hi everyone! I’ve lived in Butte, Montana my whole life. Butte is a small town where everyone knows everyone, and there are two cases that have always stuck with me- I can’t help but think they’re connected.

In October 2011, forest service workers discovered several garbage bags with cable ties that appeared to be thrown off Interstate 15 at Macdonald Pass, less than an hour from Butte and just before the nearby town of Helena. This is a very mountainous and remote area. Inside these bags, were the dismembered remains of 48-year-old John ‘Mike’ Crites, who had been reported missing June of that year. His skull was found several miles down the same pass. Investigators initially considered a neighbor as a suspect, due to a history of conflict and reports that Crites had met with the neighbor just days before his disappearance. However, these charges were ultimately dropped, and to this day, no one has been arrested in connection with his murder.

Fast forward to the following year, June of 2012. Two men hiking along Moulton Reservoir Road, a forested backroad about 20 minutes outside of Butte, came across a bag on the side of the road. Inside, was two severed legs belonging to a male victim. The rest of his remains have never been recovered. The victim was later identified in 2023 as 46-year-old Michael Wayne Canada, but no substantial leads have led to an arrest.

Two dismembered men, both in their late 40s. Both discovered within a year of each other. Both found at locations less than two hours apart by car in rural Montana.

Tell me those aren’t connected.

https://www.kbzk.com/news/charges-dropped-against-man-accused-in-2011-death-of-john-mike-crites-near-helena

https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/human-remains-found-in-2012-outside-butte-idd