Kayaker whose boat flipped near Key Peninsula dies at hospital
Post by Alexis Krell at The News Tribune on March 18, 2013 at 9:06 pm
UPDATE: The kayaker has died. He is a 29-year-old from Lakebay.
Monday night post: A kayaker is in grave condition tonight after his boat overturned and crews pulled him from the water between the Key Peninsula and McNeil Island, according to Key Peninsula Fire.
Two men in their late 20s were kayaking in the area known as Pitt Passage when their boat overturned, fire chief Tom Lique said.
One man made it to shore and was able to call 911 about 7:30 p.m. from a home in the 3700 block of 140th Avenue KP South, when residents there let him use their phone.
Multiple agencies responded with vessels to search for the missing kayaker.
The crew of a nearby Coast Guard vessel pulled him from the water, and he was taken to St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor in grave condition, Pierce County Sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.
The man was in the water for about an hour, and detectives are working to determine what caused the kayak to overturn, Troyer said. Both men were wearing life jackets, he said.
The stranded kayaker was wearing waders, which may have counteracted the life vest, Troyer said.