Michael Brendan Glover, 27, of Scottsdale, Arizona, was found dead at a campsite in the Tonto National Forest off Houston Mesa Road near Payson after a shooting in the early morning hours of September 30, 2023. A nearby camper reported hearing about six gunshots and then saw a woman running from the woods before driving away and calling 911. Responding officers from the Gila County Sheriff’s Office, the Payson Police Department, and the Tonto Apache Police Department located Glover deceased at the camp.

Glover’s family remembered him as a devoted son, brother, boyfriend, and friend who loved baseball and later formed a strong bond with his horse, Thor; Thor was later donated to a children’s facility in Michael’s honor. A friend who had been camping with him, 27-year-old Scottsdale resident Zachary Dillabough, was present at the site and taken into custody. After an area search, investigators determined no one else had been involved.

A Gila County grand jury later indicted Dillabough on one count of second-degree murder, and as of November 2023 the case was moving through the court system. If anyone who knew Michael or was in the Houston Mesa Road area that night has information, please come forward.