3 men fishing from raft on Bitterroot River from Angler's Roost to Hamilton. The operator was rowing, Passenger 1 in front of raft, Deceased in rear seat. At the confluence of Bitterroot and Skalkaho Creek, there was a small log mostly submerged sticking out from the bank. The strong current pushed them into the log. The raft swung around and was pinned against a smaller log that was completely submerged. The raft instantly flipped and threw the men out upstream of the log.  None of the three men were wearing PFDs. The operator grabbed the log and held on. Passenger 1 was under water and pushed downstream about 20 yards as his wadders filled with water.  He crawled to the bank. The operator felt the deceased grab his legs underwater, but he let go when the current pulled him away. deceased never came to the surface.  The operator said he saw their life jackets floating in the river.  The deceased was found 3/4 mile downstream pinned under a log about 2 to 2 1/2 hours after the incident.  Rescuers tried CPR and other life saving measures, but were unsucessful.  The operator and passenger 1 were found by a rescue helicopter on an island in the river and flown to the site where the deceased body was recovered.
Hamilton                      