The Cortez (colo.) Journal reports the Blanding cowboy who discovered the remains of a fugitive that eluded the largest manhunt in the West feels like a "bad guy" for pressing the FBI for the entire reward for, ahem, closing their case. Eric Bayles still hopes the FBI will do the right thing.

An FBI official presented Bayles — who stumbled across the bones, along with a rusted AK-47 rifle, pipe bombs and a watch that stopped at 6:35 on May 30, 1998, in a wash last summer — with a check for $75,000. That's half of the $150,000 promised on the wanted poster.

Bayles’ discovery of Jason McVean's bones wrapped up the murder case of Cortez officer Dale Claxton, who was gunned down nearly 10 years ago. The FBI paid full rewards to hunters who found the body of another suspect in the Claxton shooting case. The third fugitive was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound 1998. Bayles says:

It’s upsetting because they (the FBI) told me right up ‘til the last minute I would get the whole thing. Everybody we’ve talked to can’t believe they done this to us.

Bayles, who obviously is short on diplomacy skills, fears he may have alienated the FBI official during the check presentation:

I refused to shake his hand. I told ‘em they were a chicken-shit outfit.