Moyie Springs teen drowns

A 16-year-old Moyie Springs boy died Tuesday after drowning near Twin Rivers Resort.

Matthew McLean’s death will be ruled accidental, Boundary County Coroner Mick Mellett said Wednesday. Matthew is the son of Myrtle and Larry McLean; he was the fourth oldest of the McLeans’ seven children.

The Boundary County Sheriff’s Office was called at 4:57 p.m. for a possible drowning at Twin Rivers, said chief deputy Rich Stephens.

“Friends saw the boy go under and all of a sudden he was gone,” Stephens said.

He understands Matthew and his friends were swimming around a water hole close to where the Moyie and Kootenai rivers meet.

Emergency workers arrived within 12 minutes after getting the call.

“They found him, but it looked like he had drowned at that point,” Stephens said. “They started CPR and continued CPR while transporting him to the hospital.”

Matthew was pronounced dead at Boundary Community Hospital, he said.

“It’s a tough one,” said Mellett, who is a friend of the McLean family.

He understands that Matthew didn’t know how to swim.

“He was just wading in the water and slipped or stepped in a hole,” Mellett said.

“The current took him into the confluence of the Moyie and Kootenai, and the kids couldn’t find him.”

Word of the accident spread quickly.

Summer theater director Dave Carpenter, who has been working with Matthew on the production “Grease,” got a call from a high school student.

“My wife and I rushed to the hospital, and the kids slowly trickled in,” Carpenter said. “The kids sat there outside the hospital from 5:30 to 7 p.m. when the sheriff was able to give them word.”

Matthew was cast to play Roger — one of the T-Birds — in the Broadway musical which is set to hit the Bonners Ferry High School stage in mid-August.

“He never sang before he tried out, but did a really wonderful job,” Carpenter said. “(In one scene) he has to kiss a young actress. It was just so sweet to watch.”