HELENA — The man who died Monday in a diving accident at Canyon Ferry Lake was shooting a promotional video for a prospective political candidate, who also was at the scene of the accident, the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.
Sheriff-Coroner Leo Dutton identified the victim as 40-year-old Jesse Hubbell of Somerville, Massachusetts. He said Hubbell drowned and that his death has been ruled an accident.
Hubbell was with an out-of-state production company that had been filming a video for a second diver, identified as John Mues, said Sheriff’s Capt. Kevin Wright.
Mues, from Loma, has been considering running as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate in 2020. He is a U.S. Navy veteran and had SCUBA diver qualifications in the Navy.
Wright said Hubbell was in the lake on Monday afternoon when he had an issue with his equipment. He said Mues attempted to help him in the water. Eventually, Mues was brought to the shore and taken to the hospital. Wright said Mues was released later on Monday.
Crews searched the lake for Hubbell’s body for several hours on Monday and most of the day Tuesday. They recovered his body Tuesday afternoon.
Wright said it is not yet clear what issue Hubbell may have had with his equipment.
Story by Jonathon Ambarian and MTN Chief Political Reporter Mike Dennison, MTN News
