Rangers Respond To Out-Of-Park Drowning

On the evening of June 28th, rangers responded to a report from Glacier County dispatch of two men struggling in the water after their canoe capsized on Lower St. Mary Lake, which is located outside the park. The rangers spotted the overturned canoe approximately 200 yards from shore. An off-duty Glacier County deputy who lived nearby was able to pull one man to shore with his personal Wave Runner watercraft. He was taken to a hospital. The second man was retrieved from the water with the assistance of ranger Jan Cauthorn-Page and the deputy with the Wave Runner. An ALERT helicopter was dispatched to the scene. CPR was begun immediately and continued for approximately 30 minutes before rangers Dave Page, Jan Cauthorn-Page, and Phil Basak discontinued efforts after contacting a physician at Kalispell Regional Medical Center. The victim had been in the water for approximately 30 minutes before CPR was begun.