WEST GLACIER — Glacier National Park officials report it’s believed the body of 26-year-old Siddhant Vitthal Patil of India was recovered from Avalanche Creek on Saturday, August 3.
Patil had fallen into Avalanche Creek on July 6 and drowned. Clothing and gear similar to what, according to friends, Patil was wearing at the time of the incident were also found, according to a news release.
A park visitor reported seeing a body in Avalanche Creek below the gorge at approximately 10:30 a.m. on Monday and rangers began to work to recover the body.
The Flathead County coroner is now working to confirm identity through DNA or dental records.
Rangers had believed the body was being held underwater by submerged obstacles and their ability to search in the gorge had been limited due to water depth and whitewater conditions.
Patil was hiking with friends above a gorge on Avalanche Lake Trail on July 6 when he left the trail and fell into Avalanche Creek while standing on a rock.
Friends and witnesses saw him go into the creek, go underwater, and resurface briefly before being swept up by the current and into the gorge.
Park officials say that ground search efforts had been continuing over the past four weeks and that rangers flew a drone several times over the gorge in an attempt to find the body.
Patil was living and working in California at the time of the incident.
