Man found in woods near Lincoln identified, many questions remain

Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton identified the man found in the woods north of the old Lincoln Cemetery as Lee Klette, 42, of Great Falls.

A man prospecting with a metal detector in the area discovered Klette, hypothermic and near death, on Aug. 24 when he heard moaning near the trail.

Klette was discovered with wire wrapped around one leg, about two miles from his rented Ford Mustang, which had been found by a Lincoln resident Aug. 20, on Moon Drive southwest of Lincoln Gulch.

Due to the circumstances under which Klette was discovered and the extent of his injuries, Dutton initially said foul play was involved, however when Klette regained consciousness last week, he claimed he put the wire found around his leg himself and says he's not the victim of a crime.

Beyond that, Dutton said Klette has been keeping mum, so the circumstances that led to his injuries and five day stay in the woods remain a mystery.

"He's not talking. Right now, we're trying to piece it together, because it's quite odd," Dutton said.

Dutton said the hard part is that Klette's statement means they technically don't have crime or a victim. Nevertheless, they are still going to talk to people and run down leads to find out what really happened. Dutton said Monday the Sheriff's office has located one person they are planning to interview regarding the incident.

Dutton said there is little background information available on Klette, but confirmed he is an employee of FedEx. Klette was identified as a senior manager at FedEx Ground in Great Falls in two stories that appeared in the Great Falls Tribune in 2016.

Dutton said LCSO Det. Mike Hayes, who is part of the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force, is continuing to work the case.

Klette reportedly had multiple surgeries due to internal injuries and may face losing some digits because of his ordeal.

Anyone with any information related to the incident is urged to contact the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's office at 406-442-7883.