Suspected Serial Killer Grabbed in Idaho

July 20 -- "Cowboy Mike," a man wanted in connection with the disappearances of four women, the shooting of another and two rapes, was captured today 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, Wash.; in Moscow, Idaho, on Monday; and in LaGrande, Ore., on Wednesday.

A motorist caught sight of Braae sleeping in his car at a truck stop on Interstate 84 early this morning, but the suspect woke up as police arrived to arrest him and the chase was on, said to Capt. LeRoy Cordes of the Payette, Idaho, County Sheriff's Office.

Braae tried to elude police by getting on and off the highway, but the officers stayed in pursuit, Cordes said.

Spike strips were spread on the roadway in Braae's path, and one of the tires on his car blew out. He abandoned the car on a bridge over the Snake River, and jumped into the water.

Police went after him in boats, armed with shotguns loaded with beanbags, but nearly an hour later they still had not managed to collar him, Cordes said.

That was when the "bite dog" went to work, grabbing the suspect and dragging him to shore, where police were waiting to take him into custody, Cordes said.

Braae shot at police several times during the chase, but no one was hit, Cordes said. However, when he was caught he did not have a weapon, he added.

"He must have lost it somewhere along the way," he said.

Wanted for Four Years

Braae goes by the nickname "Cowboy," and according to Lt. Dan Garcia of the Yakima County Sheriff's Department, is "not from anywhere, he's from here and there." He was being held by the Malheur, Ore., County Sheriff's Department, Cordes said.

Idaho state police, Gem and Payette, Idaho, county sheriffs' deputies, Oregon state police, Ontario, Ore., police and Malheur County sheriff's deputies all took part in the chase, Cordes said.