GREAT SALT LAKE, Oct 23, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — An 81-year-old duck hunter drowned in a marsh of the Great Salt Lake after falling out of his boat.
Emergency responders were dispatched to the scene at 7:40 p.m.Tuesday in an area north of the Salt Lake International Airport near the Ambassador Duck Club, Chris Bronson, according to the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office public information officer.
First responders included the Salt Lake County sheriff’s deputies, Salt Lake City police and fire, Gold Cross ambulance crews and the Utah Department of Public Safety’s Star 8 helicopter.
The deceased fell from a boat into the water as he and a fellow hunter were retrieving duck decoys, Bronson said.
The second man was treated on scene by medical personnel, although it wasn’t clear what injuries or trauma he suffered. The boat and a dog were returned to the deceased’s family, the PIO said.
Although investigation is ongoing Bronson said indications are alcohol may have been a contributing factor.
Preliminary details were insufficient for him to confirm or deny, he said, initial reports that the 81-year-old suffered a heart attack or that the boat capsized.
Identifications were not being released pending notifications of next of kin.
