Body found confirmed to be Chinook man

The body of a man found in the Milk River has been confirmed as that of missing Chinook man Noah Hofeldt.

The body of Hofeldt, 35, is now being transported to Billings for an autopsy, said Blaine County Sheriff/Coroner Glen Huestis, but no foul play is suspected at this time, he added.

“The family came in Thursday and filed a missing person report,” Huestis said. “From what we know, he was last seen around noon on Monday the 11th.”

His bicycle was found by the city water plant, Heusits added, saying that this made the sheriff’s office and other search parties focus on the area around the Milk River.

“Some civilians, I believe his uncle was in the boat, found him,” Huestis said.

Hofeldt’s younger sister, Katie Ogden of Great Falls, said he turned 35 May 19, and he was born in Fort Belknap before the family moved to Fort Worth, Texas, when he was a young child.

The family moved to Chinook when she and Hofeldt were in high school, Ogden said, adding that she and her brother graduated from Chinook High School.

After high school, she said, her brother helped out his uncle and grandpa on their farm and worked odd jobs around town.

“I knew he was well-known around Chinook … but I didn’t know how well known until all this happened,” Ogden said.

“He wasn’t married, no kids, but he was everybody’s friend,” she added.

Ogden, who is the youngest child, said she has three older brothers, besides Hofeldt and they have been on the phone talking about their brother for hours, adding that that is how the family is dealing with it.

“He was always kind, always was smiling,” she said. “He would give you the shirt off his back, even if it was his last shirt.”