Dear Editor:
In March 2023, the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office received information about a threat to a pipeline in Blaine County. Deputies took the report and attempted to contact Clay Cowan. I decided to stay out of it due to my relationship with Clayton Cowan. A search warrant was conducted, and contact was made with a person believed to be Clayton Cowan. I later learned that the deputy was told by the person who answered the phone call that they did not wish to speak to anyone about the threat. The deputy who responded to the call was being questioned about where the case was by the respective oilfield company and asked me what should be done. I advised my deputy to present charges to the District Attorney so that they would know that steps were taken to seek charges, but I believed there would not be enough to pursue a warrant at that time. The district attorney decided that there was probable cause to believe that a crime was committed and filed for a warrant for Clayton Cowan. I advised the district attorney’s office that there was not sufficient evidence, in my opinion, to have Cowan charged with this crime and that we were waiting on the search warrant return from the email company. The district attorney’s office dismissed the charges against Clayton Cowan at his next court date. Once we received the information regarding the owner of the email, it checked back to Clayton A. Cowan out of Pennsylvania. It was later learned that Clayton Cowan was not contacted by anyone from the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office.
A concerned family member approached me about the situation, and I contacted them. I later reached out to Cowan to set up a good time to meet in person and I advised Cowan that I would issue a public apology to him and his family. I then made a social media post about the details. I was contacted by several news outlets and issued another public apology to the Cowans. I apologized because it was what the family wanted and the right thing to do. If you know anything about me, I am the first to admit that I made a mistake and do not wish to use this as any campaign, which was what one person stated on social media. I do not want to be the sheriff who uses a bad outcome for personal gain, and I truly am sorry for how this event unfolded. I appreciate the immediate family’s acceptance of this apology and will ensure that cases are completely wrapped up before any evidence is submitted to the court again. Thank you to those who understand that admitting mistakes to the public is not easy; however, they are necessary. Nobody is more critical of me than me.
Regards, Sheriff Daugherty
Editor’s note: This letter was submitted more than a week ago. However, because of the upcoming election, this newspaper felt more editorial space given to one candidate would pose an unfair advantage. Therefore, the decision was made to hold the letter until after the votes were cast.