Tom Fritz, 63, who retired at the end of last year as CEO of Spokane-based Inland Northwest Health Services, drowned in Lake Coeur d’Alene yesterday, apparently after falling off of his fishing boat near the south end of the lake while fishing alone.

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were called to the area of Mowry State Park just after 1 p.m. to investigate an unoccupied boat that had been found. Upon arriving there, deputies were told that a fishing boat was observed going in circles for 20 to 30 minutes.

A witness told deputies that he and a friend went to the boat and found that it wasn’t occupied, although fishing and downrigger lines extended into the water. The two men took the boat to the Mowry State Park dock and secured it until deputies arrived.

Investigators weren’t able to bring up the still-extended downrigger line, and divers later recovered Fritz’s body, entangled in the downrigger line in about 35 feet of water, says Lt. Stu Miller, the department’s public information officer.

The sheriff’s office said in a press release that its recreation safety section is handling the death investigation, and autopsy and toxicology results won’t be available for several weeks.

Fritz served as CEO of INHS for 16 years. The organization, which operates St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute, Northwest MedStar, and other health-care entities, has more than 1,000 employees and annual revenues of more than $200 million.

In an interview with the Journal late last year, he said he planned to take some time off after retiring and spend it with family. “I’ve got a lot of opportunities, but I don’t want to jump right into something again,” he said.