Kegger busted at Middle Thompson Lake

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the alcohol enforcement unit of the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office and the Montana Highway Patrol, busted up a weekend kegger late Friday night. The action lead to 47 citations for minor in possession and 11 kids under the age of 18 being transported to Libby and detained until their parents could arrive and release them.

Law enforcement officials at the site said between 200 and 300 people were present at the party, with approximately 100 vehicles. Partygoers scattered when law enforcement arrived and officers seized two empty kegs and multiple other alcoholic beverage containers.

Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Brandon Holzer said the party was taking place on Plum Creek property and was quickly getting out of control. The party had already startled a herd of cattle before law enforcement arrived.

“You could hear the party a mile away,” Holzer said. “We knew it was big and there was no way we could just walk away and risk that many intoxicated drivers getting on the road.”

Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe agreed.

“When you have that many kids and that much alcohol, bad things happen,” Bowe said. “We go out on calls like this to prevent things like fights and intoxicated driving and other bad things from happening.”

The deputies arrived shortly before 2 a.m., following two separate 911 calls received by Lincoln County dispatch reporting the party.

Although none of the minors cited or detained at the party were residents of Lincoln County, the minors were transported to Libby because the party was located five miles inside the Lincoln County line off Highway 2 near Middle Thompson Lake.

Bowe said those cited were from various parts of the Flathead area, including Columbia Falls, Whitefish and Bigfork.

Bowe said the party seemed to be more of a spontaneous event than a planned get-together.

“It wasn’t really well organized,” he said. “Kind of like a mass-text thing telling people to come and bring their own alcohol. By the time we got there, both the kegs were empty.”

In a press release issued Monday, Bowe stressed the risks involved with underage drinking.

“In addition to underage minor in possession laws and penalties, there are serious civil and criminal sanctions and penalties that may be brought against an individual who enables consumption or provides alcohol to youth under 21 years of age,” Bowe wrote.

In his statement, Bowe said tragedies occur almost every year around graduation time, tragedies that could be prevented.

“Many kids travel to or from parties where alcohol or drugs are available and used, and rarely does a spring graduation period go by without the tragedy of a teenage alcohol related accident. The heartbreaking and often permanent consequences of negative youth behavior are alarming, but also preventable. What begins as a seemingly ‘controlled’ party can quickly become an uncontrolled tragedy with devastating consequences to both minors and adults,” he wrote.