Body ID'd as missing camper

OLDTOWN — The body discovered in the Pend Oreille River at the Albeni Falls Dam earlier this week has been positively identified as that of a Spirit Lake man who presumably drowned, Bonner County Sheriff’s officials said on Wednesday.

Donald Robert Maskell had been missing since May 22, when he either fell or jumped into the Priest River, which discharges into the Pend Oreille River.

Maskell’s body was located on the upstream side of the dam on Monday by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers personnel, said sheriff’s Lt. Ror Lakewold.

Detectives are still investigating the death, although it is preliminarily classified as accidental, sheriff’s officials said.

Maskell, 43, was camping along the river north of Priest River with his girlfriend and another friend.

Lakewold said reports still conflict as to whether Maskell willingly entered the river or slipped on a fallen log.

“It’s a little unclear still,” Lakewold said.

Maskell was apparently swept downstream by currents amplified by spring runoff.

At the time of his disappearance, the river’s flow was measured at about 4,400 cubic feet per second and rising, according to U.S. Geological Survey data. The flow reached 5,390 cfs last week and has been steadily declining, USGS records indicate.

The river’s flow on Wednesday was measured at 2,550 cfs, a USGS Web site said.

Several searches for Maskell were conducted by members of Bonner County Search & Rescue, North Idaho Search & Rescue, the West Pend Oreille Fire District, Idaho State Police and sheriff’s deputies.

The latest search for Maskell was conducted last Saturday, but it yielded no clues as to the man’s whereabouts.

Lakewold said corps personnel and members of the Bonner County Sheriff’s Marine Patrol recovered Maskell’s body near the north side of the river.