Two killed in Eureka shooting; suspect captured after Highway 93 pursuit

Lincoln County Deputy Ryan Terpsma, 28, and Merrisa Walker were killed in the October 30 shooting, according to local reports carrying Sheriff Darren Short’s account. The deaths, injuries and capture of suspect Matthew David Dye, 50, of Kalispell, were reported on Saturday, October 31. Terpsma died at the scene; Walker was found shot dead at the residence.⁠1⁠2

Terpsma and an Eureka police officer had responded to a disturbance call at a home on Lone Pine Trail on Friday night. Both officers were shot during that response. The surviving officer’s gunshot injuries were described as not life-threatening, but authorities have not publicly identified the officer in the available account or provided a more detailed medical update.⁠1⁠2

A juvenile girl was also injured, treated at the scene and released. Officials have not explained how she was hurt. In particular, the report of her injury does not establish that she was struck by gunfire. That distinction matters in describing a scene whose full sequence investigators are still reconstructing.⁠6

Even the response time remains unsettled. In their October 31 accounts, KPAX reported approximately 8:23 p.m., while KHQ gave 9:23 p.m. KGVO and 9b News also reported 8:23 p.m., making that the better-corroborated account, but the one-hour discrepancy has not been conclusively resolved. These are reported response times—not independently established times of the first shot or either death.⁠1⁠2⁠6⁠12

The same day’s reports also disagree about Walker’s age: KPAX described the woman killed as 46, and KGVO identified Walker as 46; KHQ described her as 48. The available evidence does not settle that difference. It does not alter the confirmed toll or the identification of the two people killed.⁠1⁠2⁠6

Short said Dye fled the residence with a seven-year-old girl and was pursued toward Kalispell on U.S. Highway 93. According to the sheriff’s account, Dye fired at pursuing Flathead County sheriff’s deputies and disabled two patrol cars before surrendering at or just short of a roadblock. Those are allegations from the investigation, not findings reached at trial.⁠1⁠2

The pursuit account leaves consequential gaps. Authorities have not explained how the patrol cars were disabled, and the reported flight does not establish who fired every shot at the home. Nor does it resolve how the injured girl was hurt.⁠1⁠2

It is also not established whether the seven-year-old reportedly taken from the residence was the same girl who received treatment at the scene. No relationship among Dye, Walker and the child or children has been publicly established in the available material, and no motive has been disclosed. The presence of a child in the reported flight is not, by itself, evidence of a kidnapping offense.⁠2

The Montana Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating. Its reconstruction must connect two parts of the night—the encounter at the residence and the pursuit—without allowing allegations about one to substitute for evidence about the other. The sheriff’s account describes the broad course of events, but it is not yet a shot-by-shot explanation.⁠1

Dye’s capture is established in the reporting. His precise criminal-process status requires more care. KHQ reported jail-listed allegations of deliberate homicide, attempted homicide, aggravated eluding and criminal endangerment. Channel2 NOW separately described a pending deliberate homicide warrant. Neither description supplies a verified filed complaint establishing the offenses prosecutors are pursuing or the number of counts.⁠2⁠13

A complete Dye-specific booking record and exact booking timestamp have not been established. The reported offense list therefore should not be treated as a confirmed charging document, and no particular count can reliably be assigned to a particular victim from that list alone. Dye is presumed innocent.⁠2⁠13

The next court step is similarly provisional. KPAX anticipated an initial hearing in Lincoln County Justice Court during the following week. KHQ reported a November 2 court date from the jail roster, but no court notice has confirmed that date, an exact time or the venue for that listed appearance. November 2 is a reported date to watch, not a confirmed appointment.⁠1⁠2

A filed complaint and a confirmed appearance would move this case beyond the initial official account: they should identify the counts prosecutors pursue, whom the allegations concern and the evidence offered to support them. Until then, the clearest facts remain the most painful ones—Terpsma and Walker are dead, an officer and a girl were injured, and the state investigation continues.