Michael Burkett

The Park County Sheriff’s Office reportedly stopped a kidnapping in progress last month, after the alleged victim managed to call for help from a Clark bar.

Michael J. Burkett, 36, is alleged to have used physical violence and a knife to force his ex-girlfriend to leave her Montana home and travel with him to Pinedale on Aug. 25. However, Burkett’s trip came to a stop in Clark, when she contacted law enforcement and he was arrested.

Burkett is being held at the Park County Detention Center while officials work to have him returned to Stillwater County, Montana, where he faces felony charges of assault with a weapon, kidnapping and strangulation of a partner.

Burkett’s bail was set at $100,000 last week. Park County Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah called the New Hampshire resident “not only a flight risk but a public safety risk.”

Charging documents composed by the Park County Sheriff’s Office and largely based on the woman’s account say she and Burkett had been together for some time, with her pregnant with his child. However, she told authorities that he assaulted her in New Hampshire in late June; Burkett went to jail, she said, while she obtained a protection order and moved back to Nye, Montana.

However, Burkett later traveled to Nye and began stalking the woman, she told authorities.

“Burkett had been hanging around Nye for a couple weeks” — even showing up at the hospital when the woman went in for an ultrasound, Sheriff Darrell Steward wrote of the woman’s account.

On Aug. 25, Burkett reportedly assaulted her, the charging documents allege, holding her head between his thighs and choking her to the point she lost consciousness.

Burkett testified in court that he was traveling to Pinedale to work as a ranch hand. The woman said Burkett forced her to go along, holding a knife to her throat and threatening to kill her.

“Burkett told [the woman] that if she told anyone, he would kill her entire family, starting with [the woman’s] 7-year-old son,” Steward wrote of her account, with the woman telling the sheriff that she felt Burkett was “very capable and willing” to do so.

The woman is also quoted as saying that Burkett “punched her in the stomach several times, knowing she was pregnant.”

Burkett tossed her cellphone out of his vehicle, but she continued to seek help, court records say. Around 8 p.m., she went into a Nye business and said she’d been assaulted and choked by Burkett. The Stillwater County Sheriff’s Office was called, but the woman and Burkett were gone when deputies arrived.

When the two stopped at the Edelweiss Saloon in Clark, the woman said she saw another opening: She called the Park County Sheriff’s Office from the bar’s bathroom around 9:15 p.m.

After learning that Burkett was barred from coming within 300 feet of the woman or communicating with her, responding Deputy Jed Ehlers arrested him.

The woman reported being abused and Ehlers noted swelling and redness on her face and neck and cuts on her legs. Additionally, deputies found a knife in Burkett’s possession that matched the woman’s description of the one held to her throat.

Burkett was initially charged with a single misdemeanor count of violating a protection order, and Judge Darrah set his bond at $2,000 on Aug. 28. But later that day — with Stillwater County deputies still working on their case and Burkett potentially on the verge of being released — the woman called Steward and said she was scared to death. She then shared many of the allegations that support the pending felony charges in Montana.

When Burkett attempted to post his $2,000 bond on the morning of Aug. 29, Steward had him rearrested on a new charge of felonious restraint, court records show. However, after Stillwater County’s warrant arrived the following day, Park County prosecutors dropped their charges to clear the way for Burkett to be returned to Montana.

While Deputy Park County Attorney Larry Eichele and Stillwater County authorities asked for a $100,000 bond, Burkett argued for a surety bond that he could post. As a testament to his character, Burkett told the court that he’s a seasoned snowcat operator who’s been to the Winter Olympics and built downhill courses in China and for the women’s alpine skiing World Cup national championships.

“I’m not just some bum off the street,” Burkett said, “and I’d really appreciate the chance to show up in my street clothes, tie, suit, and possibly make enough money in the meantime to hire my own lawyer.”

Darrah, however, stuck with the $100,000 figure, citing the seriousness of the allegations.

Burkett remained in jail in Cody on Wednesday, with a status review hearing tentatively set for today (Thursday).