A more than 60-year-old security company with a Pasco office has sold to Pye-Barker Fire & Safety, a fire protection, life safety and security services company. 

Moon Security Service Inc., founded in 1957, was sold in December 2024 to the national company. Moon Security ranks No. 57 on the SDM list of top 100 security companies and has branches in Spokane, Wenatchee and Redmond, according to a press release from Pye-Barker.

Owner Michael Miller, who became the company’s president in 2020, said a combination of things prompted him to sell the business. He was having some health issues – a stroke about four years ago and a blood clot last February – that served as a “wake-up call.”

He and his wife, Debby, have been married for 46 years, Miller said, and “maybe we need to have a little more time to spend with each other.”

Pye-Barker had reached out to a friend of Miller’s in the industry, which is how he got connected with the company. It’s a “great company, just growing and doing lots of acquisitions,” Miller said.

The company has 230 locations and 7,000 team members across the country, according to a news release about the acquisition.

Pye-Barker also ranks No. 8 on the SDM 100. 

Selling to Pye-Barker “was a good move for us. Made us some good money and is allowing us to retire,” he said.

Moon Security’s employees will be staying on during the transition, and Tom Pitcher, who’s been the general manager for more than 30 years, is now the branch manager for Pye-Barker.

“We’re grateful to the company, grateful to the team, grateful to the community (we’ve) been a part of,” Miller said. 

Only the security services portion of Moon Security Service sold to Pye-Barker, Miller said. The other part of the business provided house arrest, domestic violence and alcohol monitoring, Miller explained in a 2023 Q&A with the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business. 

That business split off in October, becoming Secure Court Solutions LLC. Though the new name has only been around a few months, it’s been a business for more than 20 years, Miller said. Three of his children work in the company. 

As for Miller, he’s still around. He plans to keep busy on the boards of Tri-Cities Prep and Three Rivers Community Foundation, as well as running the Rotary Club of Tri-Cities Sunrise’s upcoming golf tournament.