Girl in intensive care after Middle Fork rafting accident

A teenage girl from Columbus, Ohio nearly drowned in a rafting accident on the Middle Fork last week.

Evie Scoville, 17, was submerged for about 10 minutes on June 4 until she was rescued by her boyfriend and his family, “despite raging waters and risk to themselves,” according to a GoFundMe campaign set up to cover her medical expenses.  

She received 45 minutes of CPR from her boyfriend's family members and nearby EMTs before being airlifted to Kalispell for emergency medical treatment.

The accident was part of a Great Northern Raft Co. excursion. The company did not immediately respond to a request for more information.

Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino on Monday confirmed there was a river accident June 4 and multiple water incidents in the past week.

From May 25 to June 4 there were six watercraft incidents, he wrote in an email to the Hungry Horse News.

Rivers swelled with runoff after heavy rains last week and emergency personnel said the accident involving Scoville occurred at the Bonecrusher Rapid between 2 and 3 p.m. ALERT flew the girl to the hospital.

That same day, a person in a kayak who went under also required rescuing.

As of Tuesday, Scoville was in an induced coma and receiving treatment for her injuries, though she has been improving, according to reports on the GoFund Me page, which is here: www.gofundme.com/f/support-evies-recovery-journey.