Snagger catches hair, search conducted
By KIM FUNDINGSLAND, Staff Writer kfundingsland@minotdailynews.com
POSTED: May 9, 2008
CARTWRIGHT – A stretch of the Yellowstone River south of the N.D. Highway 200 bridge has been reopened to paddlefishing. The area was closed earlier this week following a report that a paddlefisherman had snagged what was believed to be human hair.
According to McKenzie County Sheriff Ron Rankin, a paddlefisherman pulling his snagging rig from the murky waters of the Yellowstone Monday found what appeared to be a clump of hair. The fisherman and three of his companions examined the snag and concluded that it was human hair.
“On their way home they got to visiting about it and decided that they should notify somebody,” said Rankin. “They informed a Montana sheriff on Tuesday and the sheriff called us because it was in our county.”
A search of the shoreline where the men were fishing failed to turn up any discarded hair. The McKenzie County dive team was called to the location Wednesday morning. Following a meticulous search of a stretch of the Yellowstone by three divers, the search effort was called off about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.
“The divers didn’t find a thing,” said Rankin. “We also did a thorough check to see if anyone was reported missing in the area, in either North Dakota or Montana, and also came up with nothing.”
The paddlefishing season is now closed, but fishermen are still allowed to “snag and release” through May 14. Paddlefishing requires the use of heavy weights and large treble hooks that often snag submerged items other than paddlefish.
A woman’s body was pulled from the Yellowstone River near Fallon, Mont., on Tuesday. According to a story in the Glendive, Mont., Ranger-Review, the woman was identified as 34-year-old Susan Casey. Montana authorities had been searching for Casey since she was last seen April 12 in Glendive. The two incidents are not considered to be related.
