Man drowns in rafting accident on North Fork shelf

A Minnesota man drowned Friday evening after the raft that was carrying he and two other occupants flipped on the North Fork of the Flathead River shelf near Glacier Rim.

According to a Flathead County Sheriff’s statement, Lee Alan Gebro, 44, and the two other rafters were thrown into the water at around 6 p.m. when their craft hit the rapid that has flipped dozens of rafts so far this season.

None of the occupants were wearing life jackets.

Gebro reportedly helped the two other occupants to shore before attempting to recover the raft when it became dislodged from the hydraulic below the shelf and began floating away. Gebro drowned in the process.

An initial search for Gebro on Friday evening by North Valley Search and Rescue, Sheriff’s Office personnel and the Two Bear Air helicopter was unsuccessful.

The Flathead County Sheriff’s Dive Rescue team and North Valley Search and Rescue resumed the search on Saturday. Divers managed to recover the victim’s body in about 15 feet of water in an eddy below the shelf.