Fisherman dies after pontoon boat gets stuck on rocks and flips over, NPS says

A 62-year-old man died after his pontoon boat flipped over, Glacier National Park officials said.

Ronald Newton, from Columbia Falls, Montana, was fishing on a pontoon boat that was tied to another and both were floating down the Flathead River with a group of people on board, park rangers said in a Monday news release.

“Witness reports state the group was floating the river Saturday when two pontoon boats tied together became stuck on a rock,” officials said. “Newton attempted to free the boats when his own watercraft flipped, and he submerged in the water.”

Newton was not wearing a lifejacket or a helmet, according to the news release. A friend pulled Newton from the water and bystanders gave him CPR, park officials said.

“On Saturday, August 29 at approximately 5:42 p.m., Glacier National Park rangers responded to a report of CPR in progress near Glacier Rim on the North Fork of the Flathead River,” officials said. “North Valley Rescue met rangers at Glacier Rim and provided jet boat transport to Fool Hen Rapids, approximately 2 miles up-river.”

CPR was given to Newton for more than an hour, park officials said.

“Newton was declared deceased,” park officials said. “But the cause of death is still unknown.”