Update: Suspected drowning victim attended CHS

An Athol teen remains missing and is believed to have drowned Tuesday in Lake Coeur d’Alene.

The 16-year-old, a passenger on board a friend’s boat, fell off the vessel as it was traveling in the waters off Arrow Point around 6 p.m.

Witnesses reported the boy immediately disappeared in the water, according to a report from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office.

Units from the sheriff’s office’s Recreation Safety Section and Dive Team, along with members of Kootenai County Fire and Rescue responded.

The reported area where the incident occurred is approximately 400-500 yards north of Arrow Point, and the average water depth is around 130 feet.

The sheriff’s office report stated that due to the lack of a precise location and the water depth, no dive searches were initiated. After an extensive surface search did not yield anything, the search was suspended.

The other two occupants on board the vessel were also juvenile males.They were not injured in the incident. The names of all the involved juveniles are being withheld at this time while this incident remains under investigation. It does not appear at this time that alcohol was a factor in the event.

Initial reports indicate the victim was not wearing a Personal Flotation Device.

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office Sonar Search Team is expected to initiate actions sometime this morning.

This is the second drowning in less than two weeks on Lake Coeur d’Alene. Neither victim was wearing a PFD. The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office is reminding boaters to wear PFDs during their recreational use of the waters in Kootenai County.