Park service helicopter searches over Great Falls on Sunday, June 15 before the search for the possibly missing kayaker was called off. Photo by Mary Kimm.
Apparently unaware of a three-day search effort, a kayaker made his way home safely after capsizing in his kayak near Great Falls.
Search managers with the Montgomery County Police Department sought the public’s assistance in identifying the owner of a kayak found on the Potomac River south of Great Falls on Friday, June 13.
A multi-jurisdictional search for a kayaker believed to be in distress began at approximately 1:45 p.m. on Friday, June 13, when witnesses in the area of the Observation Deck at Great Falls near the Virginia shore reported seeing a white male in a red kayak with a white paddle. Some time later, a kayaker down river located a red kayak and white paddle, the kayak floating upside down near the Anglers Inn boat ramp in Potomac.
Rescue crews including boats, helicopters and a ground effort searched Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning for the presumed missing kayaker. Police released a photo of the kayak and other equipment found in the river.
On Sunday, the kayaker was identified through others who recognized the equipment. After speaking to him, police determined that the kayaker had experienced trouble in the water Friday afternoon and was able to swim to shore, leaving the boat in the water.
"He did not realize that his boat had been recovered and that he was the subject of a search," police said.