GREAT FALLS — A man died in what is described as a "water accident" in Glacier National Park over the weekend.
A news release from Glacier National Park says that on Saturday, August 29 at about 5:42 p.m., rangers at Glacier National Park responded to a report of CPR in progress near Glacier Rim on the North Fork of the Flathead River.
North Valley Rescue met rangers at Glacier Rim and provided jet boat transport to Fool Hen Rapids, approximately two miles up-river. When rangers arrived, A.L.E.R.T. air ambulance staff was already on scene with Ronald Newton, a 62-year-old man from Columbia Falls, who flipped his fishing pontoon boat while floating the river with a group, submerged in the water, and became unconscious.
More than an hour of CPR was performed before efforts were terminated. Newton was declared dead, but the cause of death is still being investigated.
Witness reports state the group was floating the river Saturday when two pontoon boats tied together became stuck on a rock. Newton attempted to free the boats when his own watercraft flipped, and he submerged in the water. A friend recovered Newton from the water and several bystanders initiated CPR on a nearby gravel bar. Reports indicate he was not wearing a personal flotation device or helmet at the time of the incident.
Responding agencies included North Valley Search and Rescue, Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, Blankenship Rural Fire District, and A.L.E.R.T.
We will update you if we get more information.
