Rescuers recover body of man who drowned at Yale Lake

Following a five-day search, rescuers recovered the body of a man who drowned June 30 when his kayak capsized at Yale Lake, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies responded at 4:41 p.m. that Friday for an emergency involving a man and woman who were in a single-person kayak with one life jacket. The couple were paddling from the Clark County shoreline to the Cowlitz County shoreline toward Beaver Bay Campground when the kayak capsized. The couple’s friends and family were camping at Beaver Bay for the holiday weekend, according to a sheriff’s office Facebook post.

The man had given the life jacket to his girlfriend, who was rescued by a passing boater. They couldn’t find the man, however, and called 911, the post states.

Deputies from the Clark and Cowlitz counties sheriff’s offices responded, including dive teams, drone teams and marine patrol teams. Investigators searched until dark, at which point they called off the search for the night due to safety concerns, the sheriff’s office said.

Clark County Search and Rescue, along with the dive, marine and drone teams, resumed the search at 8 a.m. July 1. They continued searching until dark throughout the weekend, including using a submersible remote-operated vehicle equipped with lights and a camera, dive teams from the shore, and boats and drones to check the shoreline, the post states.

On July 4, Skamania County Search and Rescue joined the effort. A diver from that team found the man’s body in about 20 feet of water, according to the sheriff’s office.

The Cowlitz County Medical Examiner’s Office is investigating the man’s death.

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office reminds people that one life jacket per person is required per vessel, along with a sound device, such as a whistle or a horn.