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HAMILTON — Ravalli County Sheriff/Coroner Chris Hoffman released the name of the Conner man killed Sunday when a tree fell on him while he was fishing in the East Fork of the Bitterroot River.

Michael Kenneth Bell, 62, was found on the west side of the river when Sula volunteer firefighters noticed a dog barking and running around the river bank. When the firefighters went to see what the dog was barking about, they found Bell under a blown down tree.

A high wind event had dropped trees across U.S. Highway 93 near mile marker 19, about four miles south of Conner. Firefighters and other emergency crews were working to clear trees from the highway when the discovery was made.

Fire officials worked to remove the tree so they could render aid, but Bell was dead at the scene. It appeared that he had been killed instantly, Hoffman said.

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