Search For Missing Kayaker At Carter Lake Called Off After Four Days
LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) -- Search operations to find a 31-year-old Carter Lake kayaker who went missing on Sunday have been suspended.
Searchers used drones, dogs, divers, side-scanning sonar, towed sonar arrays, and an underwater remote operated vehicle in the days since calls reporting an overturned kayak came into 9-1-1 dispatch at 2 o'clock the afternoon of April 11.
The missing man has not been identified. In a press release sent out Friday, the Larimer County Sheriff's Office maintained withholding the man's name out of respect for his family and friends.
"All information to date indicates this incident was a tragic accident and there is no evidence of a crime," the agency stated in its release.
More than 70 searchers from 12 agencies spent over 700 personnel hours working to find the man until weather conditions deteriorated Thursday afternoon. Searchers were not sent back out on Friday. No search operations are planned until new information is received that could help refine the parameters of a new effort, according to the sheriff's office.
A blue kayak and paddle was seen on the western shore of Carter Lake as Copter4 flew over the search in its initial stages Sunday. Questions asking if this was the victim's kayak were not answered by authorities.
A dog wearing a life vest was found in the water near the kayak. Questions about the dog's condition were not answered, either.
Carter Lake has been closed to all but searchers and dive teams since Sunday. The Larimer County Department of Natural Resources announced that the lake would remain closed Friday due to winter weather conditions, but it would be open to all forms of recreation on Saturday. All boat ramps are scheduled to open by 7 a.m.
