Vehicle submerged in Flathead River
EMILY MESSER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 months AGO
A drone photo of the white truck being pulled from the Flathead River on Dec. 4. (Adam Reed/Courtesy of City of Polson Fire Department)
Emily Messer joined the Lake County Leader in July of 2025 after earning a B.A. degree in Journalism from the University of Montana. Emily grew up in the rolling hills of southeast Missouri. She's lived in Montana since 2022 and honed her reporting craft through the UM J-School newspaper and internships at the RMEF Bugle Magazine and the Missoulian. At the Leader, she covers government, business, education, agriculture and community news. Contact Emily Messer at [email protected] or 406.883.4343 | December 3, 2025 4:40 PM
Around 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 3 a call rang out over dispatch for a vehicle in the Flathead River on the corner of 7th Avenue and Kerr Dam Road in Polson.
Lake County Sheriff, Polson Rural Fire Department, City of Polson Fire Department, Polson Ambulance, City of Polson Police Department, Lake County Search and Rescue and many others were quickly dispatched.
According to City of Polson fire lieutenant Adam Reed, the white truck, which could be seen from above the river, matched the description of a vehicle that was reported stolen over the weekend.
Sheriff Don Bell said due to no tracks in the snow, he believes the vehicle has been there since before the last snow fall.
Arriving units found no occupants around the vehicle and were able to get an underwater drone into the water to determine that no one was inside before devising a plan to remove the vehicle. Mark Clary, the emergency management coordinator for Lake County Office of Emergency Management, said the plan is to coordinate with the Tribal Disaster Preparedness & Emergency Services coordinator McKennah Andrews Thursday before removing the vehicle with Lake County Search and Rescue and Draggin' Wagon Towing.
On Dec. 4 at 10 a.m. crews arrived to recover the vehicle according to a press release from Jodi O’Sullivan, the City of Polson Fire Public Information Officer. Draggin’ Wagon Towing removed the vehicle from the water. Lake County Search and Rescue provided a crew and boat. The City of Polson Fire Department provided a diver and personnel and further support was provided by the Polson Police Department, Lake County Office of Emergency Management, Tribal Disaster Preparedness & Emergency Services, and Polson Ambulance.
The recovery operation took close to 3 hours to complete and law enforcement will continue to investigate the crash.
EMS, Polson Rural Fire, City of Polson Fire, Lake County Sheriff's Department and many others dispatched to the scene near Polson Dec. 3 after a truck was reported submerged in the Flathead River. (Emily Messer/Leader)
ARTICLES BY EMILY MESSER
City Commission approves grant match for a potential road resurfacing machine
The Polson City Commission unanimously approved a 20% match for a Federal Highway Administration grant to fund advanced transportation technology and innovation programs, with the city intending to use the funds for an asphalt reclaimer.
Lake County Fair hosts first and successful rodeo weekend
When the Pioneer Days Committee announced there would be no rodeo this year, the public cried out, as this long-standing tradition seemed to be fading away. But just one month ago, the Friends of the Fairgrounds, alongside the Lake County Fair Board, announced they would bring a rodeo back.
Combination of changes results in Salmon Prairie Elementary’s closure
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, one-room rural schoolhouses formed in vast numbers across western Montana, alongside the isolated farming, ranching, mining and logging communities. This was the foundation of rural education across America.