Kayaker missing on Flathead Lake
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FLATHEAD LAKE — The weekend search for a missing Flathead Lake kayaker transitioned from an active search to a recovery effort on Monday.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Karen Sargeant said St. Joseph Hospital physician Robert W. McDonald, 43, launched a yellow Eclipse kayak from Bear Harbor Condominiums at approximately noon on Saturday.
At approximately 12:30 p.m., McDonald texted someone a photo of the condos from one-half to 1 mile from shore in Polson Bay.
On Saturday at approximately 11:15 p.m. Lake County Dispatch received a report of an overdue kayaker on Flathead Lake in Polson Bay. Lake County Search and Rescue was immediately activated and by 11:25 p.m. had two Search and Rescue boats and one private SAR member’s boat running grid searches in Polson Bay, Skidoo Bay and the Flathead River downstream to the dam. At around 1 a.m. on Sunday, ALERT helicopter arrived on scene to assist in the search using their belly mounted light system. At around 2:45 a.m., Flathead County Sheriff’s Office helicopter arrived on scene to assist using their infrared unit. Both helicopters searched Polson Bay, Skidoo Bay and the Flathead River to the dam. The search was called off at approximately 3:30 a.m. to be resumed at first light Sunday morning.
At 7 a.m. Lake County SAR with two SAR boats, a private SAR member’s boat and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office boat resumed searching using a tighter grid pattern. Both helicopters returned at 8:30 a.m. to resume searching also in a tighter grid pattern. Additionally, at approximately 9 a.m. the Swan Unit of the Lake County SAR arrived with four personal watercraft to search all shorelines in the search area. After being unsuccessful, the helicopters left the scene at around 11:30 a.m. this morning. The Swan Unit SAR was off the water at around 1:30 p.m. The two Lake County SAR boats and the Lake County Sheriff’s office boat remain searching at this time. The Lake County Sheriff’s boat is carrying three SAR personnel with two search dogs.
Flathead County Sheriff’s Office brought watercraft and personnel to Flathead Lake on Monday morning to utilize their specialized sonar unit to check the search areas underwater.
McDonald is described as a white male, 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing 185 pounds with gray hair and blue eyes. It is unknown what he was wearing other than shorts and may have been shirtless and shoeless. He was not wearing a personal flotation device, and was last seen with a paddle that has a black shaft and white paddles with the logo “Aquaboard.”
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone seeing either McDonald, his yellow kayak or the paddle, to please contact the Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 911 or (406) 883-7301.
