Man's body found on Woods Bay shore

The Daily Inter Lake

The body of an Alaska man living in the Flathead Valley was found Monday afternoon washed up on the shore of Woods Bay in Flathead Lake, apparently drowned.

The 43-year-old man, whose name has not been released, was last seen Sunday evening fishing in Woods Bay from a personal watercraft, according to the Flathead County Sheriff's Office.

A friend, who had began looking for the man when he failed to return home, located the personal watercraft floating in Woods Bay on Monday afternoon and notified authorities. The Flathead County Search and Rescue team was dispatched to begin looking for what they then believed to be a missing fisherman shortly before 1 p.m. Monday, but were called back when the man's body was found just after 2 p.m. by a Lake County Sheriff's deputy patrolling the shoreline.

The man's body is expected to be sent today to the state crime lab in Missoula for a forensic autopsy, which will formally determine the cause and manner of death. Foul play is not suspected, coroners said.

Further details were not available Monday.