A blue horse trailer carrying bronc rider Brittany Miller’s “entire life” was stolen from the Public Auction Yards in Billings, Montana, on Jan. 31, she said.
Two weeks later and with the help of an army of online sleuths, Miller has recovered the trailer and some of her equipment, but she’s patiently waiting for full justice and the return of the most valuable items.
“I'm still missing two saddles, two bridles, and my Buckaroo Business armitas,” Miller told Cowboy State Daily. “I'm willing to offer $500 cash, no questions asked, to whoever could bring me the rest of my stuff.”
Miller launched her own investigation to find her stolen property and ensure the thieves are held responsible.
Her mission has drawn a lot of support and criticism, but even now that she’s recovered the trailer, she’s still determined to see this through.
“My two saddles are more important to me right now, but obviously I want all of my stuff back, if I'm able,” she said. “I’ve gotten a lot of backlash for ‘playing detective,’ but I understand what I need to do.”
Stolen And Sighted
Miller’s trailer was parked overnight at the Public Auction Yards when a white pickup backed up to the trailer, hitched it up, and took off with it.
Miller believes she was specifically targeted for the $15,000 worth of customized equipment she was storing inside.
“They entered our facility with the tailgate already down, so we could not pull a license plate off the back, and we couldn't see the front," she said about what was captured on surveillance video. "To me, this was premeditated."
Miller leveraged social media to help her locate her stolen trailer. Within a few days, she received an anonymous call with information.
“The caller gave me the identity of the person that stole my trailer, and I confirmed it was that person’s truck based on the security camera footage,” she said. “That person that took my trailer was across the street from (the suspect’s) property.”
The property in question was a residence along Pryor Road south of Billings.
Miller ventured out to the property with an officer from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) on Feb. 6. They searched from the road, and Miller even had a friend fly over the property, but they couldn’t locate her trailer.
Then on Feb. 7, Miller got another call.
“I got a phone call, no caller ID, saying that they had eyes on my trailer in the farm field next to the residence of the person who was involved with stealing my trailer that night,” she said. “We found it in a farm field right next to (the suspect’s) property later that day.”
The trailer had been broken into and damaged, but Miller was able to recover one of her saddles and “around 70%” of the equipment that had been inside when it was stolen.
However, she said “the most important items,” including her Diamond G Cactus and Martin saddles, are still missing.
“I'm still trying to recover my other two saddles and the rest of my bridles, but everything has gone quiet so far," she said.
A Narrow Escape
After failing to find her trailer on Feb. 6, Miller spotted something unexpected as she and the BIA officer were heading back to Billings: the truck that stole the trailer, heading into town.
“I knew it was the truck,” she said. “It was a four-door Chevy with a missing headlight and a dent in the side.”
The officer pulled the truck over and planned to call a tow company to seize the vehicle. Then, according to Miller, everything got “chaotic.”
“There was a high-profile shooting and high-speed chase that occurred right next to us,” she said. “That pulled all the units off, and we had to let (the suspect) go.
"When I recovered my trailer the next day with a BIA officer, there was nobody home.”
Playing Detective
Miller was reluctant to identify the suspect to Cowboy State Daily, fearing that she could be “sued for defamation.”
Even though she knows the suspect’s identity and how they might have been informed about her trailer, she’s refraining from going into detail due to the significant backlash she’s received since posting about the theft.
“People think I’m falsely accusing this person of stealing it,” she said. “I'm getting so much hate because I’m posting about it. I’m just pointing it out, but it's causing a lot of problems for me.”
People have accused Miller of “playing detective and pointing fingers” rather than following proper procedures to recover her stolen property. Miller countered by saying she knows how to handle herself and this investigation.
“Just because I’m posting about it on Facebook doesn’t mean I haven’t been following all the right procedures,” she said. “My dad's wife is a sheriff. My grandpa is a sheriff. I have cop friends. I understand what I need to do.”
Miller confirmed that the BIA and Billings Police Department are aware of the suspect’s name and the circumstances of the Jan. 31 theft.
Their investigation is ongoing, but Miller said they’ve established a connection between the suspect and her missing property, and formal charges are pending.
'I’ll Never Quit Looking'
Meanwhile, plenty of people have shown up to support Miller. A GoFundMe established to “help Brittany Miller rebuild her cowboy gear” has raised nearly $5,000.
Miller isn’t upset about the damaged trailer, which she was planning to trade in for an upgrade when the theft occurred.
Her primary concern is recovering the rest of her tack, which was custom-made and will be difficult and costly to replace.
“I’m never going to quit looking,” she said. “You might as well return it now before you end up as collateral damage in something you have no part of. But no one else has to be collateral damage.
"I just want my stuff back so I can move on.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
