Kayaker’s body pulled from Kern River in California. Group went into the water in June
A kayaker’s body was recovered Thursday, more than a month after falling out of a raft, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office said.
The Swifwater Rescue Team recovered the body in the Ant Canyon area of the Kern River, deputies said. Deputies were assisted by the Tulare County Fire Department and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office.
The identity of the kayaker was not immediately known.
The incident took place at 5:30 p.m. June 14 after the five kayakers lost their equipment and fell out of their raft, the sheriff’s office said. The kayaker became entangled in a tree in the center of the river.
The water rescue team saved four of them but were working since to recover the fifth kayaker, who had drowned, the sheriff’s office said.
Several attempts were made to recover the victim, but “extremely high and fast flow of the the Kern River prevented the recovery, the sheriff’s office said.
The water rescue team maintained scene security since the day of the incident to monitor flows and river conditions in order to plan Thursday’s recovery.
This story was originally published July 28, 2023 at 6:14 AM.
