Billings bar incident reminds us to stay vigilant | Billings News

Billings, MT – Two sisters’ Saturday night celebration in town took an unexpected turn when they called attention to what they considered inappropriate behavior.

The duo met for drinks at Bullwackers Lounge and Casino around 6 p.m. when they quickly noticed a group of three men who they said were aggressively touching and kissing a younger woman.

The woman, Antonia, said: “We could see that as a young girl she was in a huge power situation. In our childhood we were raised to be aware of our surroundings and to beware of predatory men.”

She continued, “And I think that’s why it was important to me. It looked like she was in an unsafe situation, regardless of her age. She seemed very drunk and making decisions that she wouldn’t make sober, let alone if she was of legal age and at a mature age to make those kinds of decisions.”

Antonia and her sister said they confronted the group about her behavior, but the woman assured the sisters that she was fine, even though she allegedly gave the men a false name.

The duo said they alerted the bartender to the group, but he completely dismissed their concerns.

At this point, the women say they called the non-emergency number three times within an hour before leaving as the situation began to escalate and they feared for their own safety.

It turns out that the woman Antonia and her sister saw at Bullwackers was a runaway who was eventually returned to her parents.

A local community representative says the women acted in good faith and achieved the best possible outcome.

Charli Sleeper of MMIP Billings says, “This is kind of the ideal scenario that we would like to see play out when we see suspicious activity, especially in the case of possible human trafficking or kidnapping. And this is where a Good Samaritan tries to step in. They try to get help from as many directions as possible, their request is taken seriously, not only by lawyers but by the police, and then as many people as possible come together, even from the community, to give the police authorities as many tips as possible so that the best outcome can be achieved in these situations.”

Billings Police Lt. Matt Lennick explained the police response to the situation.

He says police were notified of the incident at the bar around 6:30 p.m. and another emergency call was made about two hours later.

When officers arrived at Bullwackers, the people in question had already left and the girl’s parents had also arrived.

At that point, the parents filled out a missing person report – and over the next few hours, police worked with them to return her to her family.

The women say they are glad nothing happened to them and want this incident to serve as a warning to the community: “If you see something, say something.”

Lt. Lennick agrees and says if something doesn’t look right, report it.

We have asked Bullwackers for further information, but they have declined to comment at this time.