Hungry Horse man dies swimming in Lion Lake

A 58-year-old Hungry Horse man died while swimming in Lion Lake on Sunday, July 28.

Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said Melvin McPheeters died a natural death and didn’t drown.

McPheeters reportedly tried to swim across Lion Lake, just outside Hungry Horse on the road to the Hungry Horse Dam, but only made it halfway, Curry said.

Dispatch received a report from the lake at 2:25 p.m. and the Sheriff’s Office’s search and rescue team responded by 2:42 p.m. A witness later claimed the first responders didn’t move with urgency or try to revive McPheeters.

“That’s accurate because he was very dead,” Curry said on Monday.

A memorial service will be held for McPheeters at Graves Creek, on the Hungry Horse Reservoir, on Saturday, Aug. 3, at 3:30 p.m. The combined service will also be for his late brother Don McPheeters.