Man dies trying to swim lake

A 58-year-old Hungry Horse man died Sunday while swimming on Lion Lake, but the cause of death was not drowning, Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said Monday.

“It’s going to be ruled a natural death, not accidental,” Curry said. “He didn’t drown.”

The man, identified as Melvin McPheeters, was attempting to swim across the lake north of Hungry Horse Dam, but he only made it halfway, Curry said.

The incident was reported at 2:25 p.m., and the Sheriff’s Office and county search-and-rescue personnel were dispatched, with the first person arriving at 2:42 p.m.

A witness to the incident wrote to the Inter Lake raising concerns that first responders did not appear to be moving with enough urgency and there were no efforts to revive McPheeters.

“That’s accurate, because he was very dead,” Curry said about the absence of resuscitation efforts.