2 men dead in possible murder-suicide at Montana boat ramp

EUREKA, Mont. (AP) — Two men died in a shooting that authorities are investigating as a murder-suicide after they argued at a boat launch in northwestern Montana.

Authorities were sent to the Rexford Bench boat launch near Eureka around 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday because of reports of a shooting, The Missoulian reported.

Officers determined that 40-year-old Oregon resident Eric Newman and 51-year-old Christopher Foster, of Kalispell, Montana, were arguing while loading boats, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

Newman got into his car to back down the ramp and Foster then allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot Newman, according to the sheriff’s office.

Foster retreated to the parking area and was later found in his vehicle with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, the statement said.

Both men died at the scene.

The Eureka Police Department, U.S. Border Patrol agents, the U.S. Forest Service and the Eureka Volunteer Ambulance department also responded. An investigation is ongoing.

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This story has been updated to correct the name of the man found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. It was Christopher Foster, not Eric Newman.