Body of 18-year-old kayaker found days after boat flips on NC lake, officials say
UPDATE: The body of an 18-year-old who went missing while kayaking on Lake Waccamaw has been found, the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation confirmed. The teen’s body was discovered Wednesday, May 11 along the shoreline.
Original story continues below.
An 18-year-old kayaker remains missing days after his boat flipped on a North Carolina lake over the weekend, according to state park officials.
Three friends launched their kayaks on Lake Waccamaw on Sunday, May 8, just after 11:30 a.m, North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation spokesperson Katie Hall told McClatchy News in a statement.
One of the boaters was in a solo kayak while the others were in a tandem kayak that flipped when the 18-year-old tried standing up, Hall said. They managed to get the boat right side up, and the other friend in the tandem kayak went to retrieve the paddles, officials said.
The 18-year-old flipped the boat again and did not resurface, his friends told park officials.
They said he wasn’t wearing a life vest at the time “but informed friends he did know how to swim,” Hall said. The victim also had on boots and heavy clothes when he went under.
The kayakers said the water was calm when they launched that morning, but it became choppy as the weather grew cold and windy, according to park officials.
“As far as I understand it, it’s been considered a recovery effort since they first started because the friends saw him not resurface and they had remained in the area for sometime,” Hall told WWAY.
The two kayakers stayed there for 30-45 minutes before they were rescued by a boat, she said.
A search for the third kayaker resumed Tuesday, May 10, at 7 a.m., according to state park officials. Crews used boats with sidescan SONAR, aerial drones and underwater drones in search for the missing man. Helicopters also did an aerial search while small boats searched along the shore line.
Lake Waccamaw is about 120 miles south of Raleigh.
This story was originally published May 10, 2022 at 1:26 PM with the headline "Body of 18-year-old kayaker found days after boat flips on NC lake, officials say."