Two snowmobilers die crossing Seeley Lake

Two Montana men died after their snowmobiles fell through the ice on Seeley Lake on Dec. 26.

Missoula County sheriff’s spokeswoman Paige Pavalone said a third man, 45 years old, survived the plunge into the cold water and was hospitalized with symptoms of hypothermia.

The bodies of Derek Flesch, 25, of Pablo, and Kurt Starkel, 28, of Belgrade, were found floating a few hours after the accident.

Five men were trying to cross the lake on snowmobiles when three fell through the ice at about 6:45 p.m. The other two made it safely to the shore.

One of those two reportedly crawled back across the ice on his belly and pulled a third man, who was yelling for help, out of the water around 8 p.m., Pavalone said.

A helicopter from Two Bear Air in Flathead County located the bodies of the dead snowmobilers shortly before 10 p.m. and assisted in their recovery.

The men’s avalanche bags, designed to help a person stay on top of the snow during an avalanche, had deployed and kept them afloat. The three snowmobiles remain in the lake.

Pavalone said Seeley Lake is a popular recreation spot in the winter. But this year, she said, “the lake was not completely frozen over. It has been unseasonably warm and mild.”