Richard Hanners / Whitefish Pilot Survivors of Friday's boating accident on Whitefish Lake and friends watch the Whitefish Fire Department's rescue boat make its initial reconnaissance of the lake. Divers using sonar and underwater video still could not locate the man's body by Tuesday afternoon.

Cold water claims Canadian man
Posted: Wednesday, Apr 12, 2006 - 12:41:09 pm PDT
By RICHARD HANNERS
Whitefish Pilot

A Canadian man is missing and presumed drowned in Whitefish Lake after the canoe he was in tipped over on Friday, April 7, and the man attempted to swim the 200-plus yards to shore.

The man was identified on Monday by Flathead County undersheriff and coroner Mike Meehan as Seamus Brandan Daley, 26, of Lethbridge, Alberta.

Whitefish firefighters searched the area of the lake where he was last seen for several hours Friday evening. Side-scanning sonar and underwater video cameras were used on Saturday and Sunday, Whitefish Police chief Bill Dial said.

Up to nine divers searched the 130-foot deep water over the weekend, but their dives were limited by depths and conditions. In addition to Whitefish police, fire and ambulance crews, personnel from the Flathead County Sheriff's Office, the Flathead County Search and Rescue team and the Mission-Swan Search and Rescue team participated in the search.

Dial said nine visitors had rented a house on Whitefish Lake for a bachelor's party. Two of the men went out on a red canoe not far from Les Mason Park, but when one of the men stood up and turned around, the canoe tipped over.

The men were able to climb back into the canoe, Dial said, but it was filled with water and they got scared. At that point, the two men made the mistake of deciding to swim to shore in the icy-cold water.

"The canoe had flotation chambers and wouldn't sink," Dial said.

As the two men swam from the canoe, Daley decided to take off his clothes, Dial said. A short while later, Daley told his companion he wasn't going to make it, Dial said.

Meanwhile, other members of the party had witnessed what took place from shore. Two men grabbed boogie boards and began to paddle out toward the two swimmers. As they approached, however, one of the heads disappeared beneath the water and never came back up.

The lake water temperature was reportedly 37 degrees or colder. According to a resident on Resthaven Drive, where ambulance and the dive crews set up base, ice still covered the lake less than a week prior to the incident, with ice fisherman still pulling out fish.

The three men who returned to shore cold and wet were transported to Kalispell Regional Medical Center for treatment, but none were critical.

Dial said the next step would be for search crews to drag the lake in hopes of recovering the body, but Daley's family has mentioned hiring Ralston and Associates, from Boise, Idaho, the company that helped in the search for remains in the high-profile Laci Peterson murder case. Dial said Ralston might bring an underwater robotic vehicle to look for Daley.