Wanted Man Refuses to Leave a Missoula Gas Station

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - On April 26, 2026, at approximately 5:30 AM, Missoula County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the Town Pump located at 8745 Highway 93 North for a report from employees requesting law enforcement assistance to remove an individual who was refusing to leave the property.

Upon arrival, deputies searched the exterior area where the male had last been seen but were unable to locate him. A deputy contacted Town Pump employees inside the business, who pointed to a male seated in a chair and advised he had again returned after being asked to leave. The male was later positively identified as 56-year-old Douglas Higgins.

The deputy contacted Higgins and advised him he needed to leave the property. At this time, the deputy observed Higgins exhibiting signs consistent with possible stimulant use. The deputy then ran Higgins’s identification through dispatch and learned that he had an active local warrant with a $10,000 bail for Possession of Dangerous Drugs (Failure to Appear).

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A Voluntary Admission: Drugs on Hand

Higgins was placed under arrest on the warrant and was escorted to the deputy’s patrol vehicle. While being escorted, Higgins spontaneously stated he had drugs on his person. The deputy then advised Higgins of his Miranda rights, and Higgins stated he understood and agreed to answer questions.

Higgins admitted he possessed methamphetamine and stated he had last used methamphetamine the previous day. The deputy conducted a search of Higgins’s person incident to arrest, and Higgins gave the deputy permission to search a pouch that was subsequently located in his left jacket pocket.  

Inside the pouch, the deputy located a shard of methamphetamine and a pink pill-style container that Higgins said contained methamphetamine. The deputy also located a glass smoking pipe with methamphetamine residue, a torch, as well as a methamphetamine in Higgins’s right coat pocket. These items were also collected as evidence.   

READ MORE: Missoula News - Crime Reports

Then Higgins was transported to the Missoula County Detention Facility. During an inventory search, jail staff found additional suspected methamphetamine in a bag that had initially been placed with non-evidentiary items. The deputy returned to the jail and retrieved the additional methamphetamine.  

Higgins is currently being charged with felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs and criminal possession of drug paraphernalia. His bond was set at $10,000. 

The information in this article was obtained from sources that are publicly viewable.