Missoula couple dies after canoe capsizes off Wild Horse Island

By ETHAN SMITH - for the Bigfork Eagle

A Missoula couple died last week after their canoe apparently capsized near Wild Horse Island, after an apparent attempt to check on their family vacation home.

The bodies of Henry "Hank" Harrington and Ann "Nancy" Harrington were found Wednesday, Jan. 9 shortly before noon on the shoreline of the island by Sheriff's deputy Glenn Miller and two Polson firefighters. They took the Polson fire boat to Wild Horse after friends in Missoula called county dispatchers, worried that the couple had not returned to Missoula in time to catch a flight out of town.

As responders arrived on the south side of the island, they discovered both bodies on shore. The couple was wearing personal flotation devices, but they offered little protection against the icy water.

Also on shore, responders located the couple's canoe, and their two dogs nearby.

"We found the canoe, overturned, about 300 yards from them. The dogs were OK, and were on shore as well," Miller said.

The bodies were transported to the state crime lab in Missoula. No foul play is suspected, the Sheriff's office said in a press release, and it's believed the couple died from exposure and hypothermia due to the cold water.

A family friend had driven up from Missoula to aid in the search, and the bodies were transported back to the Polson area using his personal boat, Miller said.

It's believed that the Harringtons drove up from Missoula to check on their family's vacation home, one of a couple dozen homes on Wild Horse Island. They stopped at the launch site off Melita Island Road, and when they couldn't get their outboard motor to start on the small motor boat they owned, they decided to use their canoe, taking both dogs with them.