Two Big Lake people assaulted on holiday

BIG LAKE -- A Big Lake man is being held on charges of attempted murder and assault after Alaska State Troopers were called to The Call of the Wild bar on St. Valentine's Day evening. Troopers responded to an initial report at about 7:30 p.m. in which a woman was said to have been shot, according to a trooper press release.

When troopers arrived at the bar, they found that the woman, a second assault victim and the alleged assailant had all left, according to the press release. When troopers located the woman, she had been pistol whipped, but received only minor injuries.

Troopers located the alleged assailant, 35-year-old James P. Thurston and arrested him without incident after a brief manhunt. Troopers have forwarded the following charges against Thurston to prosecutors: two counts of first degree attempted murder, one count of second degree misconduct involving weapons, and one count of third degree assault.

According to the press release, the second victim was a 37 year-old man who had fled the bar by breaking out a bathroom window and climbing though it. Troopers said they found the man at a nearby cabin. He had numerous scratches, abrasions and laceration, some of which required stitches. He also suffered from cold injuries from running across Big Lake without clothes, according to the troopers.

The fleeing, bleeding man was found inside the home of Houston Snyder. Snyder is proprietor of the Big Lake Lodge which is far across the lake from the Call of The Wild. Snyder listened to the police calls on a scanner and realized the missing man and troopers could be in his house, so he hurried home. Snyder said no one was home at the time of the incident except for three Yorkshire Terriers, one Gordon Setter and a cat, all of whom were disturbed by the incident. The man was found wearing clothes taken from the house and had tracked blood throughout apparently hoping to arm himself in case Thurston caught up.

Troopers consider the incident a crime of domestic violence and have not disclosed the names of either of the two alleged victims. Thurston is being held at Mat-Su Pretrial Facility. His bail is set at $500,000.