"Cowboy Mike," a man wanted in connection with the disappearances of four women, the shooting of another and two rapes, was captured July 20, 2001, after a one-hour chase that ended when a police dog dragged the fugitive to the bank of the Snake River. Michael Braae, 41, had been the focus of a manhunt ranging across Idaho, Washington and Oregon that intensified over the last week when he was spotted at least three times ‹ at a garage sale in Randle, Washington; in Moscow, Idaho; and in LaGrande, Oregon.
Braae was the last person seen with Lori Jones, 44, of Lacey, Wash., who was found dead on July 8. Lacey police Lt. Tom Nelson said Jones died of "homicidal injuries," but would not elaborate. Police also want to question him about the death of Valina Marie Larson, who was last seen with him on Sept. 30, 1997 in Clackamas County, Oregon, before her bones were found in January 1998. He is also a suspect in the disappearance of Susan Ault of Cathlamet, Washington, who has not been seen since she was observed arguing with him on June 25.
He is also suspected of the rape of a woman in Yakima, Washington, on July 13. The woman, believed to be one of his former girlfriends, was found dumped in an apple orchard with a gunshot wound to the head on July 14, and is still in critical condition in a Yakima hospital. Braae has been wanted since March 1997, when he allegedly walked away from a work detail at Thurston County jail in Olympia, Washington, where he was serving time for a drunken driving conviction.