Two men rescued after Flathead Lake ordeal

Two men in their early 20s were plucked from Flathead Lake at 2:30 a.m. Friday, ending an ordeal that had started almost six hours before.

At 11:30 Thursday night, the men, ages 20 and 21, were reported lost on the lake. They had been on personal watercraft with an inner tube and a boat between Somers and Bigfork. A third person with them left in the boat to get gas when the personal watercraft ran out of fuel. When he returned, he couldn't find his cousin and brother. By the time he called for help, they had been in the water for about three hours, said Deputy Tom Snyder, coordinator of search and rescue.

Flathead Search and Rescue was called out, along with Bigfork Fire and Medical and Swan Mission Search and Rescue. ALERT helicopter flew over the area, using night-vision goggles and a spotlight.

Searchers checked bars and restaurants in the area, too, in case the men had gotten themselves back to shore, but had no luck finding them.

At about 2:30, the Swan team found the men, just as Flathead searchers arrived at the same spot, Snyder said.

"It was a good rescue," he said.

Searchers found the two men "very cold and tired," he said. They had taken turns sitting in the inner tube while the other clung to the side of it, he said.

He made an effort to interview one of them about the incident, but "his teeth were chattering so bad, I said, 'Go home and get warm.'"

Meanwhile, in an unrelated story, searchers this weekend will continue their efforts to find a man presumed drowned in the South Fork of the Flathead River.

Gabriel Brown, 21, of Kalispell, was last seen swimming in the river a week ago. Attempts to find him have been scaled back, but an aerial and boat search will continue this weekend, Snyder said.