Boater missing

POLSON — A 36-year-old man is missing after his boat was found unattended on Flathead Lake on Sunday. On Monday, a press release from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) identified the man as Nathan Bird of Huson, near Frenchtown.

According to the statement issued Monday afternoon, the LCSO has now “changed the emphasis from a rescue to a recovery.”

The search for Bird began around noon on Sunday, when authorities received a call from a resident of one of the islands in The Narrows who observed a dog stranded on a boat with no person on board. Another dog from the boat was discovered by LCSO responders after swimming to one of the nearby islands.

Boats from the LCSO and the Polson Fire Department searched for Bird throughout Sunday afternoon before their efforts were suspended overnight by the violent storms that rolled through the area around 7 p.m. Rescue efforts resumed Monday morning in the area east of Big Bull Island but concluded unsuccessfully despite the help of a helicopter and team of divers from the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office.

Responders used a cell phone recovered from the boat to contact Bird’s wife, who said her husband had left to go fishing that morning.

On Tuesday, Bird’s family members continued to search, holding out hope that he would be found alive.

“If any man could survive, we feel like Nathan could. He’s outdoorsy, he’s tough,” said Bird’s mother, Phyllis Bailey. “We can’t give up.”

Bailey convinced the sheriff’s department to send out one rescue boat to aid in the search. She said Bird was wearing a brown shirt and blue jeans when he was last seen on Sunday. Foul play is not suspected in the incident.