On Thursday, June 23, 2011, at approximately 1115hrs, Operator of vessel 1, 41, of Southbury, Connecticut was operating a 14ft raft on the Big Hole River.  A second adult male was also on board.  The raft hit a submerged object and flipped over causing operator of vessel 1 and the second occupant to be ejected into the river.  The Big Hole River was running high and murky from snow run-off at a flow of approximately 7,300 cfs.  The operator of a second raft ahead of Operator of vessel 1, Witness 1, 39, of Sammamish, Washington and two other occupants in his boat ages 17 and 13, saw Operator of vessel 1 and his fellow occupant in the water. Witness 1 jumped into the river and assisted the second occupant in Vessel 1 to safety.  Witness 1was unable to assist operator of vessel1 also and last saw him floating down a straight section of the river on his back trying to backstroke his way to the west side of the Big Hole River. 

Approximately an hour later the Beaverhead County Sheriff''s Office was called to report the accident and search and rescue personnel, Sheriff''s Office personnel from Beaverhead County and Madison County and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officers responded.  

At approximately 1400hrs MFWP officers Wahl and Schmauch and one search and rescue boat launched at the Big Hole River Ranch and floated both the east and west sides of the river to Browne''s Bridge.  We were unable to locate operator of vessel1, but did come across his raft stuck upside down in a logjam.  The raft was flipped over and we observed 4 pfd''s in a bag in the boat and the oars were gone.  Borrowing extra oars, Vessel 1 was floated downstream to Browne''s Bridge.

A short time later a second search effort involved 4 boats from FWP, search and rescue and two other volunteers launching from the Big Hole River Ranch and floating both east and west sides of the river.  A jet boat arrived from Dillon and floated downstream from Melrose.  The search for Operator of vessel 1 was unsuccessful.

A second day of searching for Operator of vessel 1 on Friday, June 24, 2011 involved two search and rescue jet boats, two helicopters and a prop plane as well as searchers walking the shoreline downstream from the accident site. The search for Operator of vessel 1 was again unsuccessful and the river flow increased to over 8,000 cfs complicating efforts.  The search effort was called off  that evening due to poor and hazardous river conditions.

On Thursday, July 7, 2011 Operator of vessel 1 was found and recovered.

Melrose                       