Larry “Ty” Beardsley of Bigfork is missing and presumed drowned, according to Lake County Sheriff Lucky Larson.
Beardsley was boating with a couple of friends about 2 1/2 miles north of The Narrows - a group of islands that separate Polson Bay from what's known as “the big lake” - when the boat's owner jumped into the water at about 8:30 p.m. to swim. As the owner climbed back into the boat, Beardsley dove over him and into the lake. His friends never saw him again.
Water depths of 200 to 240 feet in the area prevented the Flathead County dive team from aiding in the search, however, and a side-scan sonar team from Idaho was being brought in to help out.
“We don't have anybody in this area that can dive that deep,” Lake County Undersheriff Jay Doyle said.
The side-scan sonar system's transducer is housed in a towfish, which is towed through the water a few feet above the bottom. The reflected acoustic returns are processed into an image similar to an aerial photograph, which is viewed on a computer monitor in the towing vessel. Typically, the side-scan sonar searches a swath 60 to 160 feet wide at about 2 mph.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office, Polson Fire Department, and Search and Rescue teams from Lake and Flathead counties searched for Beardsley over the weekend.
Reporter Vince Devlin can be reached at 1-800-366-7186 or at vdevlin@missoulian.com.
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