05/01/2002

Associated Press

A Portland man drowned while kayaking in Montana.

The University of Montana freshman was kayaking in the Clark Fork River near Frenchtown, Missoula County officials said.

Ryan Michael Palmer, 19, was last seen by a friend at about 6:30 p.m. Monday when he became trapped underneath his kayak.

His friend performed CPR until a hospital helicopter arrived. Palmer died at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula about an hour later.

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)