Thousands of pounds of frozen chicken abandoned on Montana roadway

MISSOULA, MONTANA -- An angry driver abandoned his truck containing 37,000 pounds of frozen chicken near the Flying J Truck Stop west of Missoula, Montana.

Authorities say the company he worked for, Dixie River Freight, refused his demands for more money. So the driver walked away from his shipment of chicken worth $80,000.

The truck was discovered on Tuesday and may have been left there more than a month. Law enforcement officers are searching for the driver, 42-year-old Christopher L. Hall, who is also wanted for a parole violation.

On Thursday, the trailer was surrounded by sawhorses, crime-scene tape and flies as temperatures climbed to the 90-degree range for a second straight day.

The Missoula City-County Health Department say Dixie River's insurance company was in charge of cleaning up the mess. This could involve getting a landfill prepared to receive the load and possibly re-freezing the trailer to stop the bio hazard.

Shannon Therriault, an environmental health supervisor, said about trailer dripping with the decaying meat, "People don't want rotting chicken juice all over their cars if it's transported down the highway or down the roadway."