Recovery efforts continue at upper Selway crash site
Four men are missing after their vehicle plunged into the river while bear hunting in remote region
Rescue crews continue to search for four people who authorities suspect died in a crash in the upper Selway River, Idaho County Sheriff Doug Giddings reported Thursday.
Giddings said he spoke with Undersheriff Jim Gorges in Ravalli County, Mont., who was at the crash scene Thursday. Gorges told Giddings rescuers were successful in pulling the Chevrolet Suburban from the river, but no bodies were found inside the vehicle.
A couple of dog teams are expected to join rescuers Friday to help search for the missing occupants, Giddings said.
The accident was reported about 5:45 a.m. Monday to the Ravalli County Sheriff's Office in Darby, Mont., according to a news release from the Idaho County Sheriff's Office.
Giddings said there originally were six occupants in the Suburban, and they were reportedly on a bear hunt. Two of the occupants, who were from Georgia, managed to escape from the vehicle after it landed in the river. They were rescued by Two Bear Air from Montana and have returned to their home state.
There has been no word regarding the other four occupants - two brothers from New York, one person from Oregon and another from southern Idaho. Giddings said the Ravalli County Sheriff's Office requested the victims not be identified at this time, and he said he does not know the names.
The Suburban went into the river and settled upside down. Because the water in the upper Selway is high and swift, rescue efforts had been hampered, Giddings said.
Some family members of the victims are at the accident site, the sheriff added. A GoFundMe page set up to help with rescue efforts showed more than $36,000 in donations collected as of Thursday.
Ravalli County Sheriff Stephen Holton could not be reached for comment Thursday.
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Hedberg may be contacted at kathyhedberg@gmail.com or at (208) 983-2326.
