Mother of missing paddleboarder reflects on search and rescue efforts
Nina Rea and her daughter Emily Rea stand in front of Lake McDonald in the fall of 2021. (photo provided)
A missing persons flyer made by the family of Emily Rea, a 33-year-old West Glacier resident who was last seen in the Hungry Horse Reservoir on July 16, 2024. (photo provided)
Titled "four generations of Emilys," Emily Rea is seen here a baby surrounded by her mother, grandmother and great grandmother who are all named Emily. (photo provided)
Search and rescue crews conduct excursions looking for Emily Rea near the Riverside Boat Launch in the Hungry Horse Reservoir. (photo provided)
Crews deployed K-9 units in the search for Emily Rea. (photo provided)
A sign warns Hungry Horse Reservoir visitors that search and rescue operations are occurring in the area for Emily Rea, who disappeared from the Riverside Boat Launch area on July 16, 2024. (photo provided)
A Sheriff's Office search and rescue boat patrols an area near the Riverside Boat Launch in the Hungry Horse Reservoir during the search for 33-year-old Emily Rea of West Glacier. (photo provided)
Emily Rea, 33, of West Glacier is seen journaling on a dock. Rea has been missing since July 16, 2024. (photo provided)
Nina Rea has been on a never-ending mission to find her daughter, Emily Rea, since she went missing in the Hungry Horse Reservoir this summer.
“She's got that perfectionistic bent. She's optimistic, but also realistic,” Nina said of her daughter, speaking over Zoom from her Georgia home on Oct. 3. “She's very sensitive and is tuned into what someone else may need. In a friendship, she's an excellent listener. She's cautious, but my glory, she is independent.”
Emily, 33, was alone when she put her paddleboard into the reservoir sometime after 8:30 p.m. on July 16, according to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office. Emily’s vehicle was found at the Riverside Boat Launch area on July 17, along with her paddleboard, which was discovered upside down in the Flossy Creek area more than 2 miles west of the boat launch with her paddle stowed and assembled. The location was consistent with the direction the wind was blowing the night before, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
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