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Pray Lake drowning victim ID'd

| August 8, 2019 4:40 PM

Glacier National Park officials have identified the man who drowned Tuesday in Pray Lake as Wales Wai Ming Poon, 64, of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He was visiting the park with family members when the accident occurred.

His body was found Wednesday in approximately 30 feet of water using a Remote Operated Vehicle brought in by the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team.

Park rangers were called to the scene about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday when a bystander reported a man drowning in Pray Lake near the Two Medicine Campground. Witnesses reported they had seen the man struggling in the lake, and then go underneath the water.

Rangers dove into the lake to locate the victim, but were unable to find him. National Park Service and visitor boats searched the lake until dark, but could not locate the man. Local dive team resources couldn’t immediately respond on Tuesday because they were already assigned to another drowning outside the park.

Witnesses said it appeared the man may have gone into the lake to retrieve a dog, which also died in the incident.