Body recovered month after tourist was swept away in Avalanche Creek at Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park rangers believe they have recovered the body of a man who drowned over the July 4th weekend, park officials said.
Siddhant Vitthal Patil, 26, fell into Avalanche Creek on July 6, but the creek was running too fast to recover his body.
A visitor spotted a body in the creek on Saturday morning and rangers recovered it, park officials said. Clothing and gear similar to what friends said Patil was wearing were also recovered. The body was taken to the Flathead County coroner's office for identification using DNA or dental records.
Patil, originally from India, was hiking with friends above a gorge on Avalanche Lake Trail when he fell into the creek. It was unclear if he slipped on a wet rock or lost his balance, park officials said.
According to HikingInGlacier.com, Avalanche Creek gives visitors "an up-close view of the amazing power of glacially melted water as it rushes through the narrow gorge."
Patil, who had been living and working in California, was one of two men who drowned while vacationing in the park on July 6.
Raju Jha, 28, of Nepal drowned in Lake McDonald. He was an inexperienced swimmer. His body was recovered later that day in 35 to 40 feet of water, park officials said.
Jha had been living in Portland, Oregon.
At least seven people, including Patil and Jha, have died at the park in the last two years.
In June, a woman from the Pittsburgh area drowned at Glacier National Park, CBS Pittsburgh reported. The woman, identified as 26-year-old Gillian Tones from Armstrong County, died after she fell into the water near St. Mary Falls.
Last year, a 28-year-old woman from Kansas died after falling into Avalanche Creek at the park and being swept into a gorge.
In 2022, three people died in one week at the park.
Located in northwest Montana and featuring more than 700 miles of trails, Glacier National Park is full of melting glaciers, valleys and lakes. It covers over 1,500 square miles and includes 175 mountains.