Body of Idaho kayaker found after he fell into rough water on Montana river, cops say

An Idaho man died after falling out of a kayak and slipping underwater in Montana, deputies said.

Shortly after noon on May 8, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office received an alert from a GPS device at the Yaak River, about 8 miles from the city of Troy, deputies said in a news release.

Information from the GPS device showed that the alert was sent by a 38-year-old man who was on a kayaking trip with three other men, the release said. Shortly after deputies received the alert, they got a call from another man in the group, saying a member, 50-year-old Steven Koning, fell out of his kayak and slipped underwater, the release said.

Koning was 3 or 4 miles ahead of the other kayakers and was crossing through a rough stretch of the river when he fell, deputies said.

Rescue officials from David Thompson Search and Rescue, Troy Volunteer Ambulance and Two Bear Air Rescue went to the scene to try and help. The search and rescue team found Koning’s body at 3:33 p.m. in the Kootenai River, close to the Idaho-Montana state line, the release said.

The Yaak River is about 300 miles northwest of Helena.

This story was originally published May 9, 2022 at 3:15 PM with the headline "Body of Idaho kayaker found after he fell into rough water on Montana river, cops say."