Belton sous chef drowns in Glacier

Michael William Sloan loved to fish. He loved to hunt. He loved the outdoors. And he was often late for work. So when the 30-year-old from Hungry Horse didn't show up to work on time last Tuesday his boss, Melissa Mangold, wasn't too worried.

Sloan had been late to work before. But the minutes turned into an hour and Mangold started making phone calls, looking for him. Mangold is the chef at the Belton Chalet. Sloan was her sous chef.

There was food to cook. People to feed. But no sign of Sloan. Mangold made a call to the chef at the Lake McDonald Lodge. The chef said yes, he had seen Sloan. Sloan said he was going fishing that day at the head of Lake McDonald, asked him if he wanted to go. But the friend couldn't. So Sloan went alone.

It was one of his favorite fishing holes. He'd fished there probably a hundred times, Mangold explained.

A search began that night. They found his car parked next to the upper McDonald Creek Bridge. Darkness set it. At 6 a.m. the next morning, Mangold joined the search with Park rangers and volunteers and friends. A helicopter from Minuteman Aviation circled overhead. The Flathead County Sheriff's dive team, North Valley Search and Rescue and Flathead Search and Rescue all pitched in.

Wednesday, divers found his fishing pole in the lake. The search intensified where the fishing pole was found — an area where the creek dumps into the lake. The water was up, it had rained and it was cold and the current there was strong.

The dive team employed sonar and late Thursday they saw something that indicated a body was in the water. On Friday they used a remote-controlled submarine with a camera attached. They found Sloan 200 yards from shore in 65 feet of water. He did not have chest waders on. No waders were ever found.

Mangold is at a loss at how her friend and co-worker drowned. He knew the water. He knew the lake.

"He fished that hole all the time," she said. "Something bizarre happened and no one knows what it was. He knew there was a drop-off. He knew where it was."

All she knows is her friend is gone.

Sloan didn't just like fishing. He loved fishing. He fished almost every day before work. He made his own lures. Tied his own flies. He'd been a sous chef at the Belton for the past three seasons. Kitchens are tight-knit places. Families, really. Sloan was a member of the family.

"He could have been a chef anywhere," Mangold said. "It's been really rough on all of us at the Belton."

Sloan is survived by his young son, Kale Jameson Sloan, and long-term girlfriend Christina Soderberg, both of Hungry Horse.

The death brought grief to the Park Service as well. Sloan is the second person to drown in Glacier this year.

"We are saddened by the loss of Mr. Sloan, and on behalf of park management and staff, I extend our heartfelt sympathies to his family and friends," said Chief Ranger Mark Foust. "We appreciate the hard work, dedication and commitment to safety shown by everyone involved in the search and recovery effort. Our friends and partners with the Flathead County Sheriff's Department, Flathead County Search and Rescue, and North Valley Search and Rescue are greatly appreciated."