Missing rafter identified

The man who is presumed to have drowned in the Flathead River Sunday has been identified as Robert Alsop, 37, of Hungry Horse. A search for him continued Tuesday with no results.

“We’ve had people out on the river, and we actually have a helicopter up looking as we speak,” said Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry.

Dive operations have been suspended, and other aspects of the search could be scaled back in days to come, but Curry said there will be an ongoing effort until a body is recovered.

Curry urges boaters and floaters on the river to keep an eye out and to report any possible sightings of a body.

Alsop was one of seven people who were floating on a raft when Alsop jumped overboard without a life preserver to retrieve an oar that had fallen in the river about three quarters of a mile downstream from Blankenship Bridge Sunday afternoon.

When it became apparent that Alsop was in distress, all but one of the six other floaters entered the water at one point or another trying to help him.

Curry said one person was able to get ahold of Alsop but was unable to bring him to the surface. All on board had been drinking.

Search efforts were mostly concentrated along the river just downstream, but boats have been used to search as far downstream as Columbia Falls.

Unusually high flows for this time of year, along with poor visibility and cold water, have complicated the search, Curry said.