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[[File:WilburFSanders.jpg|thumbnail|300px|left| Wilbur Fisk Sanders]]

One of the most widely held and very plausible opinions is that Meagher was killed at the hands of Wilbur Fisk Sanders. He was the founder and leader of the Vigilante Committee, possessed vast monetary resources and had personal access to vigilantes who felt as he did towards Meagher. Additionally, and oddly, he was the man with who Meagher spent his last day. He also had a political motive for eliminating the Irishman as Fisk held ambitions of being a U.S. Senator and feared that Meagher would stand in his way. Unbeknownst to him, and most everyone, Meagher had no inclination to further his political career. In fact, a new governor to Montana was appointed by President Andrew Johnson and Meagher had resigned his post as Secretary of the territory. His last official act was to travel to Fort Benton, Montana on July 1, 1867 in order to proceed one hundred twenty miles down the Missouri river by steamboat to retrieve rifles sent by General Sherman for the purpose of protecting Montana citizens from a perceived Indian threat. General Meagher wanted to live the remainder of his life in solitude and out of the public eye.

Sanders was supposedly unaware of this, however; eyewitness accounts and his own testimony swear that the two men spent the entire day together in Fort Benton. It is very plausible that at some point these two outspoken politicians discussed plans for their futures. Neither man was shy about expressing himself or about prodding others for information. It can therefore be argued that Sanders did in fact know that Meagher had no intention of obstructing his path to the U.S. Senate, thus eliminating Sanders’ motive for wanting Meagher eliminated. Without a motive and with the knowledge that Meagher was no longer a threat politically or in any other fashion, Sanders had no reason to have Meagher murdered. That being the case, other suspects can be addressed.