Dec. 22 – A Kila man reported missing earlier this month was killed in a single-vehicle crash near Lakeside on Dec. 10, authorities said.
Gregory James Wells, 69, was reported missing by his wife on December 11 after disappearing during a visit to Kalispell the day before.
On the afternoon of Dec. 10, Wells left his home in Kila to run some light errands in Kalispell before heading to the Gold Bar casino on West Montana Street, friends said. Surveillance footage captured Wells leaving the casino at 6:30 p.m. According to Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino, his vehicle was last seen traveling west on US 2 from Kalispell.
The Highway Patrol accident report, issued Dec. 21, shows Wells was driving north on Dayton Creek Road around 9:30 p.m. when his 2000 Ford Explore left the roadway and rolled down a mountainside.
Wells, who was not wearing a seat belt, rolled the vehicle and became trapped under the SUV when it stopped.
Drugs and alcohol are suspected factors in the crash, the report said. Road conditions were covered in snow and ice.
