Missing kayaker is feared dead

PONDERAY — A Sandpoint man is presumed drowned after capsizing his kayak in Lake Pend Oreille on Wednesday night.

Bonner County Sheriff’s officials identified the missing kayaker as Rene Frederick Behrens-Spraggins, 19. He was last seen clinging to an upturned boat off Black Rock, southwest of Ponder Point.

Rescuers were summoned to the scene at about 6:30 p.m., after the victim and Dustin Drew Hendricks, 20, capsized their kayaks about 500 yards from shore, according to sheriff’s officials.

Neither Behrens-Spraggins nor Hendricks were wearing lifejackets and both were thinly clad.

“That’s, of course, a very unsafe situation in 48-degree water. Hypothermia takes over pretty rapidly,” said marine patrol Sgt. Ron Raiha.

The incident remained under investigation on Thursday, but officials said alcohol was involved.

The two had been paddling for about 45 minutes when Behrens-Spraggins capsized, said Raiha. He was unable to get back into the boat and attempted to get onto Hendricks’ kayak, but it ended up tipping over as well. Raiha said Hendricks then began swimming toward shore.

Marine patrol Lt. Cary Kelly said Hendricks lost sight of Behrens-Spraggins en route to the shoreline.

“As this guy was swimming, he kept looking back at his buddy and saw him hanging onto the kayak. But that’s the last they saw of him,” said Kelly.

A passing boater picked Hendricks up as he neared shore the two began looking for Behrens-Spraggins, Raiha said. Meanwhile, marine patrol boats, the sheriff’s dive team and North Idaho Search & Rescue personnel arrived to join the search, which lasted until late Wednesday night.

A helicopter and underwater cameras were added to the search on Thursday, but there was no sign of the missing paddler.

Raiha said the boats capsized in about 16 feet of water, the surface of which was described as calm. The boats involved were 14-foot, kit-built kayaks made of wood. The kayaks remained partially buoyant when overturned, Raiha said.

Although traditional sonar was being used to aid the search, Raiha said side-scan sonar could prove ineffective due to the scene’s proximity to the former Humbird sawmill. Raiha said there are thousands of sunken logs in part of the search area, any of which could be easily mistaken for a body on a side-scan sonar.

Turbid water conditions were further hampering the search.

“The divers could barely see their hand in front of their face underwater,” Raiha said.