Whitefish teen electrocuted in lake accident

They were three boys of summer, using the sanctuary of Whitefish Lake to cool off on a sweltering July afternoon. But something went tragically wrong.

Logan Taylor, 18, and his buddies, Jolly Righetti, 17, and Bob Edelen, 17, spent the late morning hours on Friday at the Righettis' lake home home on East Lakeshore Drive, floating on rafts and using goggles to look for carp under the water, said Righetti's father, Mike Righetti.

"They were just swimming on a sunny afternoon," he said.

Shortly after noon, Jolly and Bob noticed that Logan, who was using a 6-foot spear, hadn't surfaced from his underwater quest.

"Jolly saw him face down and tried to get to him, but the (electrical) current was so forceful it shocked him out of the water," Mike Righetti said. "He dialed 911 and called for an ambulance."

Knowing his best friend was in serious trouble, and that time was running out, Jolly dove in a second time, his father said, and pulled Logan out of the water and onto a dock, all the while getting electric shocks himself.

"He did CPR on Logan until the ambulance came," Righetti added.

A preliminary investigation indicated Logan was accidentally electrocuted when he pierced a power line with his spear, said Flathead County Deputy Coroner Dave Leib. The four-wire, 220-volt electrical line supplied power to a water pump in the lake owned by the Righettis' neighbors, the Montalbans.

Such pumps are commonly used by homeowners around the lake, Leib said, adding that the Righettis' pump is situated with four feet of the Montalban pump. In this case, the flat wire was fastened with zipper ties to a 1 1/2-inch water line that ran to the submersible pump.

"The tip of the spear barely went through the electrical line," Leib added. "He hit one of the wires."

The accident happened in about five feet of water, some 25 to 30 feet from the shoreline.

Sheriff's detective Glen Fulton, the lead investigator, said the wire and the trident prong from the spear head will be sent to the state crime lab for further examination.

"It was brand new wiring, with no breaks, holes or cuts in it. It wasn't faulty," Fulton said. "All indications are he (Logan) was holding the spear when it went through the wire running to the pump. It was a freak accident."

If the spear had pierced the wire when the pump wasn't running, there would have been no electrical charge, no electrocution, authorities said. But on that day, at that hour, the pump was running.

"There are any number of factors, that if they would've gone one way, he'd be alive," Fulton said. "They all went against him."

Whitefish Ambulance transported Logan to North Valley Hospital, administering CPR as they went. He was pronouced dead on arrival.

Taylor remembered as a friend to everyone

Logan Taylor's soccer coach remembers retiring the uniforms for the season. When he came upon Logan's, he noticed it was the most tattered.

"He took great care of his uniform, it's just that he did all of that damage on the field," said O'Brien Byrd, the Whitefish High School boys head soccer coach. "Everything he did, he did with 110 percent. He had such intensity and passion, but he always put others before him. And he was always looking after the younger players."

Friends say they'll remember Logan as a fun-loving guy who was friends with everyone.

"He had a lot of people who really cared about him, in his class, those older than him, adults…"said life-long friend Emily Joy.

The community packed Christ Lutheran Church Tuesday morning for a memorial service. As the space ran out, students sat cross-legged on the church floor. Though respite from grief seemed elusive at the service, the church's sanctuary was quickly surrounded by classmates and friends of the young man whose death so visibly jarred those present.

In the foyer, one woman hugged a bereft friend of hers. "That's all I can say," she explained, letting the length and strength of her embrace do all the talking.

"This service is not for Logan. Logan is okay. This service is for you, the family and friends," the Rev. John Bent said.

The biblical story of a resurrected Lazarus framed remembrances of Logan. The stories served to resurrect the spirit of the young man.

"You were as good a friend as a friend can be and death cannot take that away," said Jolly Righetti as he choked back tears.

Jolly and Logan grew up not much more than a stone's throw away from one another, just east of Whitefish. They were best friends.

Remembering was painful, but the memories came easy, as friends and family related Logan's winning grin, his infectious spirit and his kindness and warmth that was there for everyone and anyone.

"Rest easy, my friend," said one mourner, after he brought smiles to faces as he recalled Logan's humor and family nickname, Pogo Boy, from a time when Logan's father used to challenge his son to see how long he could hop on one foot. Friends remembered Logan's love for music, cliff jumping at Tally Lake (he coaxed more than one friend into the water.)

"I'll always remember what a water baby he was," Joy said on Monday. "That kid would not get out of the water. The irony now is killer."

Joy's sister, Amanda, was likewise good friends with Logan, and said his personality was unforgettable.

"He liked to stand out, and be his own person," she said. "He was so nice, if anyone needed help, he'd be there for them."

Rev. Bent urged mourners to "cherish your days and friends as Logan did." He quoted Proverbs 18:24 to summarize the kind of friend Logan was: "A man that has friends must show himself friendly; there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Logan was a friend like that."

—Christine Hensleigh and Lynnette Hintze