On Saturday April 25th, a combined effort by the Search and Rescue Teams from Missoula, Seeley Lake and Flathead county, will conduct a operation to recover three snowmobiles from Seeley Lake. Senior Deputy Sheriff Bob Parcell says the event is going to involve many people.

"The plan is to use the scuba team, about ten members from the flathead county. They're bringing their people down, with at least a boat," said Parcell. "We'll have our two boats from the Seeley Swan Search and Rescue and from the Missoula Search and Rescue. And we'll be making an effort to locate and then to hopefully raise the sunken snowmobiles. It might take all of tomorrow, it may go into the next day but at least we'll be getting a start on raising them."

Parcell says that the snowmobiles were left there after an accident where a group of snowmobilers were crossing a dangerous part of seeley lake. The snowmobiles fell then through the ice, leaving two dead.

"We were able to get them out, only did recover their bodies using the two B-air helicopters from Flathead county," said Parcell." When they got here, because they have such a major situation in the middle of the night, but we did retrieve them, and we did retrieve the bodies at that time. Because it's cold water drowning, we did take them to Saint Pats. They did extraordinary life saving measures to try to bring them back, bu they were unsuccessful."

While the operation is a training exercise, it is also considered a favor to the faimiles who have been unable to to retrieve the snowmobiles themselves.

 

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