Fisherman dives into lake to save kayaker and never resurfaces, Washington cops say
A fisherman disappeared in a Washington lake after trying to save a struggling kayaker, authorities said.
Rescues responded to the area at about 5 p.m., Wednesday, April 5, at Five Mile Lake Park in Auburn, King County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Corbett Ford told McClatchy News.
The fisherman was on the shoreline when he saw a kayaker fall into the water, Ford said. He rushed into the water to save the kayaker, but the man in his mid-30s never resurfaced, according to the sheriff’s office.
Someone else did manage to rescue the kayaker at Fivemile Lake, Ford said. He was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Rescuers searched for the fisherman in the water for hours.
“Where they were finding him, at one point in time, they were 15 feet down, the lake gets up to 25 feet in some places,” Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority division chief Pat Pawlak told KOMO.
His body was found in the lake after 7:15 p.m., Ford said. A medical examiner will determine the official cause of his death.
Neither men were reported wearing life jackets. As the weather warms up and more people begin to recreate outside, Ford encouraged the public to wear life jackets while on the water.
“The weather might be nice, but the waters are still extremely cold,” he said.
Auburn is about 30 miles south of downtown Seattle.
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