Man Missing After Jumping Off Cda Cruise Boat Presumed Drowned After Climbing Around Decks Of Mish-An-Nock

Sheriff’s deputies spent several hours Saturday searching Lake Coeur d’Alene for a man last seen jumping off a cruise boat Friday night.

Chad Sebastian Burgad, 23, of Bonners Ferry, remained missing and was presumed drowned late Saturday.

Burgad, a cook at the Kootenai River Inn, was one of about 350 passengers on a cruise aboard the Mish-an-Nock sponsored by Spokane radio station KZZU-FM.

Nate Godwin, a disc jockey with the station, tried to keep Burgad from climbing a pole from one deck to another, said KZZU program manager Brian Paul.

“One of our employees pulled him down and said, ‘Stop, you can’t do that,”’ Paul said. Godwin urged Burgad to go inside, Paul said, but Burgad declined.

A moment later, Burgad reportedly said, “I’m outta here,” and jumped overboard, Paul said.

Witnesses told Kootenai County Sheriff’s deputies that Burgad jumped from the upper deck. He was not wearing a life jacket.

The Mish-An-Nock crew initiated “man overboard” procedures by stopping the boat and throwing a life ring into the water. The boat was about a quarter mile south of Tubb’s Hill, about 15 minutes from docking.

The sheriff’s department received the call at 9:55 p.m. and searched the water’s surface until 12:30 a.m. Saturday with high-powered lights and five rescue boats.

The Mish-An-Nock has a bar, and Burgad was seen on board with a beer, Paul said. Sheriff’s Sgt. Dan Soumas said other witnesses reported Burgad had several drinks prior to the cruise.

Witnesses saw Burgad take two or three swimming strokes in the water before losing sight of him, according to Paul.

With the surface water temperature at 55 degrees, his chances of making it to shore were slim, said Sue Welberry, a diver with Tom’s Diving Adventures in Coeur d’Alene.

“The water is so cold it only takes 15 or 20 minutes and you get hypothermic,” she said.

Burgad’s vehicle was still parked near the Third Street docks late Saturday and he had not contacted his family, Soumas said.

Burgad disappeared near one of the deepest holes in the lake, possibly 160 feet deep, Soumas said.

Although the ship’s captain took Soumas to the site where Burgad is believed to have gone overboard, Soumas said the search area is still about 1/2 to 1/4-mile square.

Divers can search the lake bottom for only a few minutes because of pressure from the water’s depth. Rescuers use sonar before deciding whether to send down a diver.

An extensive lake-bottom search probably will not occur today because of the expected high traffic on the lake, Soumas said.

The radio station has sponsored about six cruises a year for the last 13 years. Friday was the first time a passenger was lost on a KZZU-FM cruise, Paul said.

On an unrelated cruise last year, a 33-year-old Coeur d’Alene man jumped off the top deck of the Mish-An-Nock and was rescued after treading water for 40 minutes. In May 1994, a 24-year-old man drowned near Independence Point when he dove into the lake fully clothed after a cruise.

Both men had been drinking, according to police reports.

KZZU management was reconsidering having cruises after Friday’s incident.

“We’re going to have to weigh this,” said Steve Herling, vice president and general manager of KXLY, which just purchased KZZU. “There’s no way we can prevent somebody from doing something that doesn’t make sense.”

He didn’t rule out future cruises, but the fun’s probably over for this season at least, he and Paul agreed.

“Losing one person alone is enough not to want to do it ever again,” Paul said.

, DataTimes