Missoula man presumed to have drowned on Flathead Lake

Lake County officials have identified a boater who is presumed to have drowned after he was last seen on Flathead Lake last week.

Chad Hansen, 34, of Missoula, was last seen by witnesses on the evening of June 27, near the Narrows between Finley Point and the islands north of Polson, according to Lake County Sheriff Don Bell. The witnesses attempted to reach Hansen but were unable to before he disappeared from sight, Bell said.

Search-and-rescue teams from Lake, Flathead and Missoula counties, along with a team from Idaho, were unable to find Hansen's body using sonar and divers, Bell said. Hansen had not been wearing a life jacket when he was last spotted, according to the witnesses.

"People need to wear a life jacket on this lake," Bell said Monday. "Flathead Lake is not very forgiving if you have any kind of problem. The water is really not that warm yet, and snow is still melting in the mountains."

Bell said this is the first suspected drowning on Flathead Lake this year.

State Bureau Reporter