Area mourns death of Jerry Donoven

After three days of searches interrupted only by sleep and bad weather, the community's worst fear had become reality as the body of 54-year-old Havre man Jerry Donoven was found Monday morning around 9:30.

Hill County Sheriff Don Brostrom said the body was discovered “quite a ways” from where Donoven’s little blue and white boat was found Friday evening. Brostrom said the body was discovered by a volunteer on a jet ski who was able to access the thick marshy willows of that section of Fresno Reservoir.

Friends and family said they noticed Friday that Donoven had not come back from his Thursday outing to the lake. People were concerned because, although Donoven knew the area well, he also had some health issues that could have rendered him disoriented, the sheriff said.

Volunteers came out to help the four law enforcement agencies who spearheaded the search for Donoven.

On top of boats, jet skis and manpower, food, drinks and sweets were brought and set up at the Kremlin Bay boat loading dock. Law enforcement worked from sun up to sundown looking for Donoven. Volunteers came and went, giving what they could of their time and resources.

Monday, it was a volunteer who helped bring the search to an end.

Brostrom said the next step is to have an autopsy done at the state crime lab in Missoula. It could take month, he said.

The community begins the mourning process.