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Report ID# 3986

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Accident Description

 Lake Stevens man dies in Montana canoeing accident

Associated Press

Monday, August 3, 2015

MISSOULA, Mont. — A 46-year-old Lake Stevens man has died after a weekend canoeing accident on the Clark Fork River in western Montana.A group of boaters in canoes overturned in turbulent water Sunday afternoon near Alberton Gorge. Everyone in the group was wearing life jackets, but one man was unable to make it to shore.

Frenchtown fire spokesman Mel Holtz says others on the water helped bring the man out of the water and a bystander began CPR. The coroner pronounced him dead at the scene.Mineral County officials identified the victim as Shane Dearden of Lake Stevens, Washington. The cause of his death is still being investigated.

The Mineral County coroner has released the name of the man who died near the Alberton Gorge on Sunday afternoon during a Boy Scout canoe trip. Shane Dearden, 46, of Lake Stevens, Washington, died after his canoe overturned in the Clark Fork River. A representative from the coroner's office said the cause of death is still under investigation. 

The incident kicked dozens of rafters into gear as they orchestrated an impromptu rescue operation and attempted to resuscitate the man. Anders Brooker, owner of the Runner's Edge in Missoula, was on his way down the river with a group of 22 employees when they spotted a commotion on the northeast bank. He said their river guides immediately pulled over and started taking turns performing CPR, along with several other Missoulians. 

"It was a group of Boy Scouts," Brooker said. "And they had trouble going down the rapids. They came through that set of rapids, but it was a gray area what happened next." He said by the time his group happened upon the canoeists, they had already been performing CPR on Dearden for five minutes.

Brooker said the group had about eight or nine canoes and the man may have had his two teenage sons with him. The group had planned to travel from Missoula to Thompson Falls and was on the second day of the journey. 

After they did CPR on the man, they took him across the river to the other bank. Brooker said they stripped a pontoon raft to its braces to support the man while carrying him up the embankment. 

"It took a lot of people to get him up there," Brooker said, heaping praise upon employees of the Montana River Guides company, who performed the bulk of the river rescue operation. "There were a lot of people ... trying to do the right thing and trying to help out," he added. About two-thirds of the way up, Missoula EMTs were able to assist the rafters. The group then floated with the remaining canoeists to the next pullout, he said.  

When emergency responders arrived about 3 p.m, the man was put in an ambulance and EMTs continued to attempt to resuscitate him. Their efforts were unsuccessful, and the Mineral County coroner declared the man deceased at the scene.

The other canoeists were able to get to shore safely, according to the Frenchtown Fire Department. All of them, including Dearden, reportedly were wearing life jackets.

The NorthWest MedStar helicopter, as well as Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and Missoula Emergency Services also responded to the scene.

Assistant Scout Executive Duc Button for the Mount Baker Council of Boy Scouts in Washington confirmed the group was on a Scouting trip.

Button said they got the call about Dearden's death Monday morning, and he had few details to release as of afternoon.

"I am still waiting for some information to be submitted from the troop," Button said.  

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