Body of missing Virginia Beach kayaker recovered in Sandbridge area
The body of a missing Virginia Beach man was recovered in the waters of Sandbridge Beach on Friday, four days after he failed to return from a recent kayaking trip.
An off-duty officer spotted what was believed to be a body in the water off the beach in the 3100 block of Sandfiddler Road, Virginia Beach police shared Tuesday.
The medical examiner’s office identified the body of 27-year-old Ryan Tew, a kayaker who went missing last week. A spokesperson was not immediately available to provide Tew’s cause of death.
Tew was reported overdue from an overnight kayaking trip the morning of Sept. 13. According to the Coast Guard, Tew launched his red single-person craft Sept. 12 around 11:30 p.m. from Crab Creek in the Lynnhaven Inlet. He was due to return around 3 a.m.
Coast Guard crews and local agencies searched by air, land and sea, calling off the search for Tew the evening of Sept. 14, after an “exhaustive” two days combing Virginia Beach waters.
The search spanned approximately 1,870 square miles, with the only significant finding being Tew’s red, single-person kayak. The craft was found approximately 4 miles east of 65th Street in Virginia Beach on Tuesday afternoon.
Caitlyn Burchett, 727-267-6059, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com
