Rescuers found a body of a man whose kayak flipped on Knik River, troopers say
Aug. 29—The body of a kayaker missing since Tuesday was located Saturday in the Knik River, Alaska State Troopers said.
A pilot flying in the area in a private aircraft reported after 5 p.m. finding a body near Wolf Point on the northern side of Knik River southeast of Palmer, according to the report. The Mat-Su Borough Water Rescue Team and troopers responded to the scene at about 7:30 p.m.
The State Medical Examiner's Office confirmed that the recovered remains were of Brian Lizer, 46. The office is in the process of determining the cause of his death, troopers' spokesperson Timothy Despain said.
Rescue teams had been searching the Knik River for Lizer after his kayak flipped over Tuesday, troopers said.
Troopers received a report around 6 p.m. Tuesday of a missing boater about 3 miles downstream from Knik Glacier in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. Lizer was trying to cross the Knik River in a kayak to retrieve a boat that had drifted across, troopers wrote in an online report.
Lizer's kayak overturned shortly after he left the shore, troopers said, and people watching from the shore didn't see him resurface. They told authorities Lizer hadn't been wearing a flotation device, troopers wrote.
Rescue divers with Mat-Su Borough Emergency Services responded to the area while Alaska Wildlife Troopers patrolled the river with a helicopter, according to troopers. Troopers were only able to find Lizer's empty kayak, they said.
Troopers said a Department of Public Safety helicopter continued searching the area Wednesday. The use of dive teams or sonar was being prevented by high water levels and poor visibility, they wrote. On Friday, the operations transitioned to a limited, reactive search, troopers said.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly spelled Brian Lizer's last name, based on information in an online report by Alaska State Troopers.
