Flathead Lake claims two in one week

By Andrew Fish / Leader Staff

Two people drown in separate accidents in the past four days.

Friday

The first accident occurred on Friday evening around 8:30 p.m. The victim, identified as Larry E. "Ty" Beardsley, 70, of Bigfork. According to Lake County Undersheriff Jay Doyle, Beardsley was riding in a boat with two friends near Black Point when the unidentified owner and operator of the boat decided to stop in order to go swimming. As the man was climbing back into the boat, Beardsley jumped over him, into the water. As the man was toweling off, he realized that Beardsley had not surfaced and immediately went back into the water in an effort to locate him.

When the man failed to locate Beardsley, he called 911 from a cell phone. Several agencies then became involved in the search for Beardsley, including the Lake County Search and Rescue Team, the Polson Fire Department, Flathead County Search and Rescue and the Flathead County Dive Team. The search went on throughout the weekend with no results.

According to Doyle, the water depth in the area where Beardsley was last seen is 240 feet, which is too deep for the divers. A team with side scanning sonar is on its way from Idaho to assist with the search.

Monday

The second accident occurred on Monday afternoon. Around 4 p.m. a homeowner on the shore big arm bay called the sheriff's office to report that an unoccupied sailboat had drifted ashore. Deputies were dispatched to the scene and Lake County Search and Rescue began a search for the victim. It was determined that the sailboat came from Big Arm marina. With assistance from a fixed wing aircraft the victim was located and his remains were recovered. No foul play is suspected in the case. The victim was not wearing a personal floatation device. The remains were sent to the State Pathologist's office in Missoula for examination.

The identity of the victim is being withheld pending notification of the family.