Drowning victim

The Daily Inter Lake

identified

A man who drowned in Flathead River was identified Tuesday as Dale Miles Peterson, 44.

He was found Monday afternoon by a pilot who flew over the river near the Old Steel Bridge and spotted a body caught on logs.

An autopsy conducted at the state crime lab in Missoula showed that Peterson died of drowning, according to Undersheriff Mike Meehan. The manner of death - whether by accident, suicide or homicide - is undetermined.

"We don't know how he got in the water," Meehan said. It appears he hadn't been there for more than 24 hours, he said.

Meehan said Peterson was a transient, who was last heard from by a cousin on Dec. 26 or 27.

Peterson had been released from the Shelton County Detention Center in Washington on Dec. 23. He was arrested in 2000 in Flathead County and was extradited to Washington to face child-rape charges, Meehan said.

Peterson was identified by information on his dentures. A backpack was found near Kiwanis Lane, close to where Peterson was discovered. The backpack contained his prison identification and Social Security number.

The autopsy will determine whether he had any drugs or alcohol in his system when he died.

There was no evidence that Peterson had been assaulted, Meehan said.