Woman drowns in Glacier's McDonald Creek

A Washington state woman drowned after falling into McDonald Creek in Glacier National Park on Saturday afternoon.

Abigail Sylvester, 33, from Buckley, Wash., died Sunday, according to a news release Monday from Glacier Park.

Sylvester was with her husband near the bridge below upper McDonald Creek Falls when she slipped and fell into the creek around 3 p.m. Saturday and was swept half a mile downstream.

It is believed she was taking photos when she slipped. Her husband jumped into the creek to try to save her, but he escaped to the creek bank due to deep and fast-moving water.  

A visitor on an interpretive tour saw the woman being carried downstream and the interpretive park ranger leading the tour notified park dispatch.  

Sylvester was found near the outlet of McDonald Creek into Lake McDonald after being carried over 30-foot-tall Lower McDonald Creek Falls. 

Several visitors provided assistance. A father, mother and teenage son traveling Going-to-the-Sun Road went to the bridge near Lower McDonald Creek Falls to search for the woman.  

The father, a volunteer firefighter, spotted Sylvester in the water. He waded into the creek, then began swimming in waist-deep water and was able to retrieve her. His son helped get her to a small island. The father and son, two other men and park rangers gave cardio-pulmonary resuscitation to Sylvester. 

Three Rivers Ambulance and the ALERT medical helicopter responded to the scene. ALERT transported the woman to Kalispell Regional Medical Center.   

Park visitors are reminded to use caution around all bodies of water. Water is cold, fast-moving and high and rocks can be very slippery. Streams in the park are running higher than normal because of late June snows and a higher-than-normal snowpack.

Drowning is the leading cause of death in the park: From 1913 to 2012, there were 56 deaths from drowning in Glacier.