Olympic National Park kayaker Travis Valenti presumed dead in lake

A 37-year-old man was presumed lifeless after abandoning his kayak because it took on water in a chilly lake in Washington state’s Olympic Nationwide Park, officers mentioned. Travis Valenti’s fiancee additionally went into the chilly waters of the park’s Lake Crescent as she tried in useless to rescue him.

The couple had been on the lake Friday afternoon when Valenti’s kayak began to tackle water, park officers mentioned in a press release Tuesday. Valenti, of Massapequa, New York, tried to maintain paddling however needed to abandon the kayak and go into the water.

His fiancee tried to rescue him, however her kayak overturned, and he or she additionally went into the lake, park officers mentioned. She was in a position to swim to shore, however Valenti wasn’t. Neither was sporting a life jacket.

Valenti was final seen a few quarter mile offshore in an space of the lake with a depth of about 400-500 toes, officers mentioned. Staff at a close-by resort initially used a motorized vessel to search for him, and park rangers and firefighters joined the search.

Rangers looked for Valenti for over two hours Friday and carried out a secondary search Saturday with out discovering any indicators of him.

In response to park officers, Lake Crescent has floor water temperatures round 50 levels Fahrenheit throughout this time of yr. Officers warn that water that chilly can have extreme results on individuals.

“Sudden immersion into chilly water will impression an individual’s respiratory and over time, their potential to maneuver extremities,” officers mentioned in Tuesday’s assertion.

The Washington State Parks and Recreation Fee urges individuals to be cautious about any water temperature beneath 60 levels Fahrenheit.

Lake Crescent is the second deepest lake in Washington, reaching depths of as much as 624 toes, in line with the state Division of Pure Sources.