A 20-year old woman from Butte died on Sunday, August 27, 2023, after her kayak tipped over in Lake Delmoe in Jefferson County.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call about a man and woman in distress who were kayaking on the lake.
The caller was on shore and said they heard a man yelling for help and that “they” were drowning.
A Sheriff's deputy responded to the scene along with Jefferson Valley EMS, Jefferson Valley Search and Rescue, and Butte LifeFlight. A mutual aid request was also sent to Gallatin County Search and Rescue for their boat and dive team.
Emergency crews was determined the man and woman were on a one-person kayak with a dog.
The kayak tipped over and they all went into the water; neither were wearing life jackets, according to the Sheriff's Office.
The man was able to swim to the opposite shore, and the dog was recovered safely, but the woman remained unaccounted for.
LifeFlight subsequently found the woman's body in the water, and Jefferson Valley Search and Rescue was able to recover her body.
Jefferson County Sheriff Tom Grimsrud says the woman has been identified as 20-year-old Abigail Richards of Butte.
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