On May 11 at approximately 7 p.m. Salvador Gallegos of Lopez Island was in a canoe on Hummel Lake without a life preserver when he capsized and went into the water.

Gallegos surfaced a couple of times and then was not seen again. Rescue efforts by those on the lake and on the lakes edge were unsuccessful. The San Juan County Dive team was called to respond and was unable to recover the victim. The dive team returned the following day to attempt recovery with the help of the Whatcom County K-9, but was again unable to locate the victim in the lake due to a tremendous amount of Milfoil (Milfoil is an invasive weed that plagues lakes all across the country).

On May 16, the Whatcom County Dive team was brought in along with their K-9 unit and their underwater ROV which is equipped with a sonar device. At approximately 3 p.m. the dive team along with the ROV located and recovered the victim. The death is being ruled a drowning at this time. The victim is being sent to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner to determine the exact cause of death.