Body is that of missing paddler

SANDPOINT — The body pulled from Lake Pend Oreille on Tuesday night has been positively identified as that of Rene Behrens-Spraggins, a 19-year-old from Sandpoint who capsized his kayak last week.

The results of an autopsy are pending, although authorities believe he drowned after overturning his boat near Black Rock on May 28.

Bonner County Sheriff’s officials said the body was discovered in about 17 feet of water approximately 450 yards from shore. Behrens-Spraggins was found about halfway between The Seasons condominiums in Sandpoint and Black Rock in Ponderay, said sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Raiha.

The week-long search for Behrens-Spraggins was hobbled by poor underwater visibility. The sheriff’s dive team probed the area Behrens-Spraggins was last seen, but the divers could barely see their hands in front of their faces because of sediment, said Raiha.

Sheriff’s Lt. Cary Kelly said the spring runoff and rising lake level were to blame for the poor water clarity.

A Kootenai County Sheriff’s Marine Patrol boat fitted with side-scan sonar was brought in Tuesday, a move officials here said brought a swift end to the search. Behrens-Spraggins’ body was recovered by divers at about 7 p.m.

Behrens-Spraggins and Dustin Hendricks, 20, had reportedly been paddling for about 45 minutes when trouble hit. After the victim tipped over, Hendricks attempted to help him, but ended up capsizing himself.

Hendricks told investigators he was swimming toward shore when he was picked up by a passing motorboat. They went back to rescue Behrens-Spraggins, but he could not be found.

Neither Behrens-Spraggins nor Hendricks were wearing life jackets when they capsized in 48-degree water and both had consumed alcohol before shoving off from shore, according to Bonner County sheriff’s officials.

In typical cold-water drowning cases, a person can become quickly incapacitated, Kelly said. Alcohol can hasten the onset of hypothermia because it increases the flow of blood to the body’s extremities, which speeds heat loss.

“They end up drowning. What caused the drowning are these other factors,” Kelly said.

The incident remains under investigation, but it’s believed the death was a tragic alcohol-related accident.

“Everything seems to follow that line,” Raiha said.

Required gear

Kayakers and canoeists on Idaho waters are required to have a readily accessible personal flotation device and a sound-producing device such as a whistle, according to the Bonner County Sheriff’s Marine Patrol.

The U.S. Coast Guard advocates life vests as a guard against hypothermia through the 50/50/50 rule: If someone is in 50-degree water for 50 minutes, they have a 50 percent better chance of survival if they are wearing a PFD.