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Body, Believed to be Nebraska Man, Found in Flathead River

Sheriff says the body was being sent to the state crime lab in Missoula for confirmation

By Dillon Tabish
Rafters float the Flathead River below Kerr Dam on Aug. 13, 2015. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon

POLSON — Law enforcement officers in northwestern Montana believe a body that was recovered from the Flathead River is that of a 23-year-old Nebraska man who went missing last month.

Richard Mitchell of Minatare, Nebraska, fell into the fast-moving water on May 31 after passing warning signs at a scenic overlook just below the SQK Dam on the Flathead Indian Reservation.

Lake County Sheriff Don Bell tells KERR-AM that a fisherman spotted the body Tuesday in a section of the Flathead River called the Big Bend, which is west of Ronan and about 17 river miles (27 kilometers) from the dam.

Bell says the body was being sent to the state crime lab in Missoula for confirmation of the identification and to determine the cause of death.

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