Body Of Trucker Found By Boaters

The body of a Montana man was found by boaters on Lake Pend Oreille, Bonner County’s coroner confirmed Sunday.

Brandon Short, 39, died June 4 when a truck he was driving plunged through a wood-planked bridge on Derr Island. Short was swept away by the flood-swollen Clark Fork River and into the lake.

About 2 p.m. Saturday, Bonner County marine deputies pulled Short’s body from the water in the Pearl Island area near Hope, Coroner Dale Coffelt said.

Ten days earlier, Short had been hauling loads of rock to Derr Island, about 30 miles east of Sandpoint. He was shoring up a bank near one of the island’s seven homes. The section of bridge gave way when the truck got too close to the edge, Sheriff Chip Roos said, snapping off some of the timbers and leaving a gaping hole in the bridge.

Once rescuers arrived, it took six hours to haul the truck out of the heavy current using a winch, bulldozer and backhoe. When the crushed dump truck was reeled to shore, deputies found its cab empty.

Short lived in Heron, Mont. He left a wife and two children, ages 9 and 6.

, DataTimes