Emily Marie Rea

The Disappearance of Emily Marie Rea: A Deep Look at the Mystery at Hungry Horse Reservoir
On July 16, 2024, 33-year-old Emily Marie Rea of West Glacier, Montana, set out alone on her paddleboard at Hungry Horse Reservoir and was never seen again. What began as a peaceful summer outing transformed into one of the most perplexing missing-person cases in recent Montana history.
A Quiet Evening on the Water
Emily drove up South Fork Road to Riverside Boat Launch, a familiar recreation point along the reservoir. The next day, her 2011 Honda CR-V was still parked at the site, untouched.
Two days after she disappeared, search teams located her paddleboard upside down near Flossy Creek, roughly a couple of miles from where she began. Her paddle was found stowed neatly beneath the bungee cords — a detail that struck her family as unusual for her habits.
Despite the discovery of her equipment, there were no footprints, no signs of struggle, and no indication of where Emily might have gone after reaching the water.
Who Emily Was
To those closest to her, Emily was thoughtful, organized, gentle, and deeply empathetic. She was known to be cautious and attentive — the sort of person unlikely to take unnecessary risks on the water or venture out unprepared. These qualities have only deepened the mystery surrounding her disappearance.
An Unforgiving Search Environment
Hungry Horse Reservoir, though scenic, is an incredibly challenging place to conduct a search. Created when the valley was flooded by the Hungry Horse Dam, the lake is marked by:
Underwater cliffs
Submerged forest
Sudden depth changes approaching 300 feet
Ridges and shelves that complicate sonar readings
The complexity of the lake’s geography made the search extremely difficult, even with specialized equipment and trained divers.
Massive Search Efforts
The search for Emily was one of the most extensive in the area’s history. Multiple agencies and volunteers used:
Sonar-capable boats
Dive teams
Helicopter and drone surveillance
Ground crews
K-9 units
Teams spent thousands of hours covering both water and land. Yet, despite the size and sophistication of the search, no trace of Emily herself was ever located.
Family Concerns and Unanswered Questions
From early on, Emily’s family noticed inconsistencies in the circumstances:
Her paddle, stored on the board rather than her car, contradicted her usual routine.
Her car’s electronic key fob was in a non-waterproof bag, another detail that didn’t fit with her typical preparedness.
The condition and placement of her board raised additional questions.
These anomalies led the family to broaden the focus of their search. They hired a private investigator and encouraged the exploration of possibilities beyond an accident on the water.
Community Response and Hope
The disappearance inspired a grassroots movement known as #EyesForEmily. Friends, family, and ordinary residents of the Flathead Valley distributed flyers, organized search parties, and shared her story across social media.
A $25,000 reward was offered for credible information, and the community has remained actively engaged in keeping her case visible.
On the one-year anniversary of her disappearance, supporters held a paddle-out tribute, gathering on the reservoir where Emily last spent her final known moments. The event symbolized hope, unity, and remembrance.
One Year Later: Still No Answers
As of late 2025, the mystery remains unresolved. No new evidence has surfaced, and no conclusive theory has emerged. The official search continues intermittently, depending on weather and seasonal access. Volunteers still organize search days, both on water and on land surrounding the reservoir.
The case endures as an open wound for her family and a haunting question for the community: How does someone vanish so completely, in a place surrounded by people who care and a search strengthened by modern technology?
Emily Marie Rea is still missing, but her story continues to live on — through every volunteer who searches, every flyer distributed, and every person who refuses to let her name fade.