Two men drown in Glacier Park Saturday
Avalanche Creek gushes through Avalanche Gorge in Glacier National Park. (Daily Inter Lake FILE)
A 26-year-old man and a 28-year-old man drowned in two different areas of Glacier National Park Saturday. One body has been recovered.
The 26-year-old was hiking past the gorge on Avalanche Lake Trail when he went into Avalanche Creek around 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Friends and witnesses saw him go into the creek, go underwater and resurface briefly before being swept up by the current and into the gorge, according to Public Information Officer Gina Icenoggle in a press release.
Glacier National Park dispatch was alerted to the incident at 8:37 a.m. Park campground staff were on the scene almost immediately, followed by law enforcement rangers around 9 a.m.
The ALERT helicopter conducted aerial searches of the creek and more than 10 rangers searched the area, but the man has not been found and is presumed dead. Rangers believe the body is caught underwater in the gorge.
Due to poor visibility and hazardous conditions, ongoing search efforts will be scaled down and rangers are monitoring the area. Avalanche Creek is at a high water level due to snowmelt runoff and the gorge is extremely dangerous, making conditions impossible for rangers to enter the gorge.
The 26-year-old from India lived and worked in California and was on vacation with friends.
Dispatch later received a call around 6:25 p.m. that a 28-year-old man from Nepal was swimming with friends in Lake McDonald near Sprague Creek Campground when he started to struggle about 30 yards out, went underwater and never resurfaced. According to friends, he was an inexperienced swimmer the press release states.
Rangers were on the scene by about 6:50 p.m. Park rangers were able to determine the location of the body 30 yards offshore at 35 to 40 feet underwater. The Flathead County Sheriff’s dive team responded and recovered the body around 8:20 p.m. The ALERT helicopter and Three Rivers ambulance also responded.
The Nepal native, who lived and worked in Portland, Oregon, was also on vacation with friends.
Names have not yet been released. Park officials have contacted the Nepal and India consulates for assistance in contacting next of kin.