1 killed, 2 missing in Bighorn Lake boating accident

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A boating accident on Bighorn Lake in southern Montana has left a 59-year-old woman dead, one man hospitalized and two men missing.

According to a National Park Service press release, on Saturday night Big Horn County Montana Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from an off-duty deputy advising of a boating accident near Dayboard 7 on Bighorn Lake, about seven miles south of Yellowtail Dam on the Montana side of the lake

The 911 call said there was a sunken vessel and two individuals in the water.

National Park Service and Big Horn County deputies responded. They located Robert Ludwich, 63, of Billings, Montana, on the shoreline. Ludwich was transferred by boat to Ok-A-Beh and transported by Help Flight to St. Vincent Healthcare.

Rangers stayed on the scene through the night. Search resumed Sunday morning. The body of Tammy Scoville, 59, of Billings, Montana, was recovered from the water. Search and rescue operations continued through the day in search for two additional missing white males. Operations were set to continue Monday with additional Park Service and US Coast Guard resources.

Ok-A-Beh Marina and Bighorn Lake remain open, however, boaters are asked to use extreme caution and asked to keep wakes to a minimum in the area of the lake between Dayboards 5 and 9, were operations are concentrated. The majority of the activities will be centered around Dayboard 7.

The two missing men are aged 35 and 36, national recreation area spokeswoman Christy Fleming said Monday morning.

No details have been released about the cause of the accident.

If you have information about the accident, contact Christy Fleming, public information officer, at 406-666-3302.