Man, 21, found drowned in lake

The Daily Inter Lake

The body of a 21-year-old man who disappeared in Lower Two Medicine Lake was found Thursday evening.

The cause of death was drowning according to Glacier County Sheriff Wayne D. Dusterhoff, who is also the coroner working this case.

Investigators don't yet know how the drowning occurred, Dusterhoff said.

A blood sample is being sent to the state crime lab in Missoula for a toxicology report, he said.

The man, from the Browning area, was swimming with a group of three or four friends near Hangover Beach, a popular swimming spot in the vicinity of the dam, said Glacier County Undersheriff Jeff Fauque.

That area of the lake is just outside the eastern boundary of Glacier National Park.

After the man disappeared in the water, his friends searched for him for several hours before calling authorities just before 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon, Fauque said.

A helicopter from the Skyland Fire responded to the scene, and a rescue team in boats used sonar equipment to aid in the search late Thursday evening, Fauque said. Divers from the Toole County Search and Rescue team were also in the water at that time.

Units from the Glacier County Sheriff's Office, Glacier County Search and Rescue, Blackfeet Search and Rescue, the Blackfeet tribal fish and game service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs were also involved in the search, Fauque said.

The man's body was recovered about 6:30 p.m.

His name will not be released until the next of kin has been notified, Dusterhoff said Friday.