1 dead, teen missing after boat capsizes
on Yellowstone River near Livingston
Billings Gazette 7/28/2018 - A teen boy is still missing and an adult woman is dead after a drift boat carrying the family of a Gallatn County Sheriff’s captain capsized Friday evening on the Yellowstone River near Livingston. Five people were in the boat, according to information provided to the Park County Sheriff’s Office, Undersheriff Clay Herbst said in its initial press release,
In an update provided around 3:45 p.m., the sheriff’s office noted that Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office Captain Jim Anderson and his daughter were able to make it to shore safely, but that Anderson’s wife, Angie, 47, had died on scene. Anderson’s son, James, 15, was still missing as of Saturday at 3:45 p.m.
The boat capsized at 7 p.m. Friday near the U.S. Highway 89 North bridge on the Yellowstone River, the press release stated. Anderson thanked all the first responders involved.
Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin expressed his condolences in the press release.
“We hurt for Jim and his family,” the statement said. “They have a long, difficult road ahead but they are not alone. We will help and support them no matter what they need or how long it takes.”
Search and rescue teams from Park, Gallatin, and Sweet Grass counties searched for the missing teen with boat and ground crews, as well as K-9 teams. Overnight, Two Bear Air Rescue used thermal imaging to continue the search, the sheriff’s office said.
In an update sent at 12:19 a.m. Saturday, the sheriff's office said a portion of the river would be closed due to the search.
The Yellowstone River, from Mayor's Landing in Livingston to the Sheep Mountain Fishing Access east of Livingston, would be closed temporarily. The closure includes the 89 North Fishing Access. The closure would last until the search concludes, possibly through the day Saturday, the office said.
Sheriff's captain's son presumed to be 2nd death in Yellowstone River boating crash
· MATT VOLZ Associated Press 7/30/2018
HELENA — Searchers are presuming that a second family member has died after their boat collided with a bridge pylon and capsized in Montana's Yellowstone River, authorities said Monday. The search for James Anderson, 15, has shifted from a rescue operation to an effort to find and recover his body, said Park County sheriff's Sgt. Brian Bichler.
Sheriff's Capt. Jim Anderson, from neighboring Gallatin County, his wife Angie, son James, a daughter and a family friend were floating the river on a drift boat Friday night when it struck the U.S. Highway 89 bridge in Livingston and capsized, authorities said.
Sheriff Scott Hamilton, left, and Undersheriff Clay Herbst, of the Park County Sheriff's Office, search the Yellowstone River Saturday for a teenager whose family's boat capsized near Livingston on Friday near the U.S. Highway 89 North Fishing Access Site.
Jim Anderson, his daughter and the friend were able to make it to shore safely, but Angie died and James couldn't be found. Bichler said there are strong hydraulics in that portion of the river that pull boats toward the pylon, and he called it a tragic accident.
"It's beautiful and we love it and we spend a lot of time on it, but it's dangerous," Bichler said of the Yellowstone River. "You can do everything right and still have tragedy strike on the river. It's swift-moving water, things can happen. It's not anybody's fault.
The two-day rescue effort included nearly 150 people searching in the water, along the shoreline and from the air. A stretch of the river from Livingston to Columbus that had been closed to boat traffic over the weekend reopened Sunday night. Five counties and state officials sent search and rescue crews that included boats, divers, search dogs and a helicopter. The search continued after dark using thermal cameras.
The scaled-back search for the boy's body included 25 to 30 people on Monday, Bichler said.In this July 29, 2018, photo provided by The Gallatin County Sheriff's office, search and rescue teams along the Yellowstone River search for a teenager whose family's boat capsized near Livingston on Friday. Authorities say the rescue effort for a teenager is shifting into a recovery operation.
Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin said Jim Anderson thanked the rescuers for their efforts. "Family is everything, it's why we do what we do and it's also why it hurts that much more when it's our family," Gootkin said in a statement. "We hurt for Jim and his family. They have a long, difficult road ahead but they are not alone. We will help and support them no matter what they need or how long it takes."
BREAKING
Teen's body recovered from Yellowstone River 20 miles downstream of family wreck
BiOfficials have recovered from the Yellowstone River the body of 15-year-old James Anderson, who went missing after a family boating accident that also killed his mother in July.
Park and Gallatin County sheriff’s deputies recovered the body at noon Sunday from the Yellowstone River near Springdale after acting on a tip from a fisherman, according to a press release from Park County Sheriff Scott Hamilton and Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin.
“We are thankful to be able to return James to his family,” the sheriff said.
Gallatin County Sheriff's Capt. Jim Anderson, his wife Angie, son James, a daughter and a family friend were floating the river in a drift boat on July 27 when it struck the U.S. Highway 89 bridge in Livingston and capsized.
Jim Anderson, his daughter and the friend were able to make it to shore safely, but Angie and James died. Angie was declared dead on scene.
Springdale, where the teen’s body was recovered, is roughly 20 miles downstream from the Livingston bridge where the boat capsized.
