BURNS -- The ragtag remnants of the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge started to give up their ground Wednesday after calls from supporters, Congress members and even their arrested leader to abandon the 26-day takeover.

Confusion reigned at the windswept bird sanctuary that has served as the hub of an anti-government protest that captivated the country 30 miles outside this high desert town.

Late in the day, word came that an original occupier who took on the leadership role and some others were surrendering or leaving.

The moves appeared to follow a message sent by Ammon Bundy to the protesters through his attorney: "Stand down and go home."

Jason Patrick, a former roofer from Georgia, had stepped in to organize the estimated 10 or so people who remained at the federal reserve after the arrest the day before of leaders Ammon Bundy and Ryan Payne and the killing of occupation spokesman Robert "LaVoy" Finicum.

The deadly confrontation happened as Bundy and the others were on their way to John Day, about 70 miles from Burns, for a community meeting.

Patrick said people in the compound met overnight to vote on whether to abandon the refuge or stay, and the majority voted to stay. He spent time on the phone with "Chris," the negotiator who had spoken with Bundy, and insisted the "redress of grievance" that the occupiers had submitted must be addressed.

But Patrick was among those who apparently were on their way out Wednesday evening, supporters said. His departure couldn't be independently confirmed. He didn't answer calls to his cellphone.

Duane Ehmer, the much-photographed horse-mounted cowboy from Irrigon, Oregon, was confirmed to have left.

"We have him and his horse," a law enforcement official said.

Information wasn't immediately available on whether the occupiers would be charged with conspiracy as others were.

Those who remained -- several armed and in camouflage -- seemed skittish and scared throughout the day in a series of live video feeds. They were shown abandoning refuge buildings and heading for remote areas of the reserve in their trucks.

A black helicopter circled. Lookouts remained posted in the fire tower.

"They're going to murder all of us," screamed Sean Anderson in a live stream from the refuge on Wednesday morning, referring to the FBI and other police officers who were busy surrounding the perimeter.

"American people better wake up and get here and fight for your country right now, it is on," Anderson said. "If they stop you from getting here, kill them."

Yet the call for support didn't appear to rally many troops.

Three groups tracking the occupation -- the Pacific Patriots Network, Oath Keepers and III% -- issued a statement calling for their members to stand down until their leaders could talk with federal officials and understand what happened Tuesday afternoon.

Stewart Rhodes, president of the national Oath Keepers, said his group and others have been working since Tuesday to end the occupation.

"Our focus last night was getting the children off the reserve," Rhodes said. A representative of the the Coalition of Western States was at the refuge headquarters and "was able to talk a lot of those folks into leaving," he said.

A convoy of four cars carrying occupiers left. A young couple, including a pregnant woman, left the refuge a little later, he said.

"The FBI to date so far has kept its promises when it comes to passage for those who want to come out," Rhodes said. "They did what they said they were going to do."

Rhodes said he understood the FBI was going to conduct a "call out" Wednesday evening for the remaining occupiers to leave the refuge.

The Pacific Patriots Network is monitoring activity at the refuge and has offered to escort people out of the Burns area, said Joseph Rice of Grants Pass, one of the group's founders.

"We're trying to stem off an emotional response," he said.

Police have blocked the road a mile out from the refuge turnoff. The entrance to the refuge headquarters, where Bundy and his followers have spent most of their time over the past few weeks, are another six miles down from the turnoff.

By midafternoon at the roadblock on Oregon 205, a handful of reporters and satellite news trucks milled about, awaiting any action.

The closest thing they found came when four unmarked police rigs left the barricaded area heading back toward Burns.

Around 3 p.m., a convoy of semi-trucks drove by on the highway carrying more roadblock equipment and floodlights. A Twitter debate broke out about how long it would take before police would bring in giant speakers to blast annoying music at the occupiers.

U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, whose district includes Harney County, urged people left at the refuge "to go home before anyone else gets hurt."

Bundy called on the last occupiers to "please stand down," his attorney said on the steps of the federal courthouse in downtown Portland.

In a news conference, FBI Special Agent in Charge Greg Bretzing told occupiers that although they had been given multiple chances to resolve their standoff peacefully, the opportunity still remained. He encouraged them to call negotiators for help in leaving and that they should be prepared to identify themselves.

A steady trickle of occupiers already had taken up offers to leave, including one of the last remaining leaders, Blaine Cooper. Cooper, who is typically active on social media, was quiet on Wednesday and his whereabouts remain unknown.

David Fry, a 27-year-old Ohioan who has kept up a near-constant video live stream in the occupation's last days, appears to still be at the refuge.

His YouTube channel, DefendYourBase, showed the flickering flames of a campfire Wednesday evening.

The last occupiers could be heard admiring the beauty of the stars.

They said they saw four eagles fly over them.

"We're all at peace with our decision," one man could be heard saying. "We feel like there's going to be a miracle here. And we're praying for it."

-- Carli Brosseau, Les Zaitz, Kelly House and Anna Marum of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report.

-- Laura Gunderson

Lgunderson@oregonian.com

503-221-8378; @lgunderson