Teams combing Canyon Creek Road area for missing snowmobiler

Derrick Perkins, Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, Mont.
·1 min read

Dec. 14—About 30 rescuers were searching the Canyon Creek Road area behind Big Mountain on Wednesday for an 87-year-old man who went missing the day prior.

Authorities said Charles Kind was expected back from snowmobiling about 2 p.m., Dec. 13. Officials discovered his vehicle and trailer in the Canyon Creek parking lot, but Kind remains missing.

Authorities describe Kind as typically donning all black outdoor gear — bibs, jacket and helmet — and was on a 2023 Arctic Cat Blast boasting a blue, white and black color scheme.

The Flathead County Sheriff's Office, Flathead and North Valley Search and Rescue and Two Bear Air are participating in the effort to find Kind. Sheriff Brian Heino said poor weather on Dec. 14 limited the use of aircraft.

The region is under a winter weather advisory from the National Weather Service through Thursday afternoon with two to four inches of snow predicted. Lows overnight Dec. 13 in the Whitefish Range dipped into the teens.

Heino said searchers had erected a temporary base at Canyon Creek.

Authorities urge anyone with information regarding Kind's whereabouts to contact the county's dispatch center at (406) 758-5610 (select option No. 1).

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.