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[cool][#0000ff]I just handed off the paddle I found on March 16 to the State Parks folks at Willard Bay. It was the final piece of the puzzle to concluding their investigation. And there have been some things that have come out in that process that probably need to be said.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Turns out I probably should have reported the paddle to the rangers the day I found it. All they had was an abandoned vehicle and nothing else. The paddle would have confirmed what they were suspecting...a drowning.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It would have also been great if the dimbulb boater who found the partially capsized kayak later that same day had reported his find also. But NOOOOO. He took the kayak home and advertised it for sale. WRONGO.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Turns out the the State Parks folks shelled out about $800 an hour for over five hours, flying a helicopter over Willard looking for any other evidence...on the 19'th...the day after they officially logged the abandoned vehicle...and three days after the kayak and paddle had been removed from the lake but neither one reported. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]BFT member utahsteelheader is one of the rangers at Willard Bay State Park, and he has been in charge of the investigation. I sent him a PM and a picture of the paddle, letting him know the basic details of my find. He was glad to get the paddle and pretty much confirmed it belonged to the drowning victim. He was also gentle about reminding me that I should have reported it. But he is ballistic about the boater who removed the kayak without reporting it and then tried to sell it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Lesson to be learned? Whenever any of us sees or finds something unusual...on any water...we should assume the obligation of reporting it to the proper authorities. We never know how important it might be to solving a situation or locating either a body or lost gear.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]For the record, there is still an ongoing investigation into the exact circumstances of the drowning. Hopefully all of that can be resolved soon and the family can have some closure.[/#0000ff]
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Certainly unfortunate. Thanks for the update. A good, solemn reminder of what can happen.
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Good reminder, Sometimes we think....wow, what a find I could use this....but we need to see if it is too good to be true and think...could someone really Loose a boat without knowing it. Like you said earlier, we could all learn a lot from this.
Shawn
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WoW
Who finds and sales a boat they found at lake...
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Yeah no kidding. He probably just assumed someone lost it at shore and it drifted off. I can't say I would have thought about the owner of it drowning. Did the guy have a life jacket? I'm guessing not?
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Good information to know.
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I for one have learned a good lesson from all of this Pat. When I notice the car parked there for several days and even looked in it to see if someone was in it I should have said something to the parks people. Then when you said you found a paddle with the price tag still on it, it should have dawned on me what had happened. Not till they found him did it all make sense to me. Not that it would have mattered that late but it could have saved them alot of expense and time. My hats off to you for turning it in.
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There is a post at Utah Wildlife Network by the person who found the body and he said that he was wearing a black neoprene jacket. It could be a non-drowning related circumstance that contributed to his demise. Sad story, indeed.
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Unbelievable that somebody tried to sell the kayak. I wondered if it even crossed his mind that somebody may have been in danger as he took it.
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[quote fsh4fun05] Unbelievable that somebody tried to sell the kayak. I wondered if it even crossed his mind that somebody may have been in danger as he took it.[/quote]
[cool][#0000ff]I think most of us would have reported a craft found floating, half submerged, and would have probably feared that it was the indicator of a potential problem. But, the guy who DID find it claimed that he assumed that somebody had simply lost it and that it was rightful salvage. Not unlike my thoughts when I found the paddle...even if the paddle was less of a "red flag" than an abandoned and semi capsized kayak.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I only found out yesterday the actual circumstances of authorities recovering that kayak. The guy who found it DID sell it, thinking it was his to sell. But, when the news came out about finding that body, and the time frame, he reacted as I did. He put two and two together and figured out that he had found something lost by the drowning victim. To his credit, he did come forward and the authorities were able to recover the kayak from the person who bought it from the finder.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]He may have acted improperly in not reporting the kayak at the time he found it, but he did the right thing by making sure it was turned in after the fact. Could have saved a lot of time and expense in the investigation had he done so up front. Who could REALLY say how they would have acted under similar circumstances. [/#0000ff]
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" [#0000ff]He may have acted improperly in not reporting the kayak at the time he found it, but he did the right thing by making sure it was turned in after the fact. Could have saved a lot of time and expense in the investigation had he done so up front. Who could REALLY say how they would have acted under similar circumstances.[/#0000ff][#0000ff][#000000][font "Arial"][size 3]"
I know you found a paddle, no big deal, but a kayak floating in the water opens a whole new world of possibilities. There is nothing you could have done nor would a paddle raise any suspicion and no, you should not feel any guilt but the guy who found the kayak should have reported it. I take several solo trips every year in my toon, float tube and my boat and if anything should ever happen I would hope that somebody reports it. If a float tube was floating out in the water half submerged I would hope that somebody reports it and not sell it on KSL. I'm not a psychologist Pat but you have become unknowingly intertwined with this mans drowning and there is no fault upon you nor is there anything you could have done about it. Had you found the kayak i know you would have reported it but I just can't understand why this guy didn't. Decency as a human being should have told him to report it. Boggles my mind....I'll stop rambling now, I've been up all night [crazy]
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[cool][#0000ff]Hope you didn't stay awake all night worrying about my psychological well-being. I'm doing fine, thank you. Yeah, I am sorry in retrospect that I did not report the paddle but I honestly did look around for any rangers before I left. And there was nobody on duty at the pay station. It was early in the season.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I also found it difficult to understand why the guy who found the kayak did not report it. But in the warped philosophical state of my current age and degeneration I live by the belief: ANY TIME YOU ASK A QUESTION THAT BEGINS WITH THE WORD "WHY"...AND IT HAS TO DO WITH PEOPLE...THERE IS NOT LIKELY TO BE A GOOD ANSWER.[/#0000ff]
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I saw the wind pick up two different aluminum boats off the bank at Lake Oahe in SD & toss them probably 30 yds. off the shore. One had a motor on it & it was floating with only about 18" of the bow sticking out of the water & the other one landed upside down. That one blew clear outta sight before we left. Since I lived clear on the west side of the state & we went home that afternoon I never learned any more about it. Dunno just what I'd have done if I had come upon one of them if I was out in a boat.
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Tubedude, like I was saying about your maps, you are on top of most everything. It is  when anyone drowns. It should give us another warning to be more careful ourselves and with our families.
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lol, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Good point on "why" and "people".
I was up all night because I injured my back and the pain medication makes it so I can't sleep...and I was worried about you [  ]
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Wow... There is much for me to ponder here. Speaking to the group and not to just Pat (but I had to reply to someone to post my thoughts). My heartfelt sentiment goes out to all involved....
First on my mind is that last summer I had what felt like a near death experience at Bear Lake on a wave runner. Had I and my son and niece not been wearing life preservers, we would have been another news report with a seemingly abandoned watercraft on some beach. I'm reminded that being a fisherman definitely demands precaution and respect for safety at all times.
Second, is that I also wish to underscore that one does not always know what we'd do in any given circumstances - and, it's all too easy to armchair quarterback and I strive to not be judgmental and assume more than I ought.
This issue has much precedent with others like it - and involves otherwise very intelligent and responsible folks. (Perhaps others have seen the recent national reports of more obvious examples of beating and slaying victims laying in the street, or being hit by a vehicle and bystanders doing nothing at all.) I am mindful that there are deeper psychological and societal issues involved. But brevity prevents me from elaborating with examples. However, I will share the following.
Please forgive me if this is off topic, but given the nature of this thread I don't think it is. (Suffice it to say, issues of safety hit close to home for me to be similarly informed.) Here is a link to a very recent Pulitzer Prize article in the Washington Post called "Fatal Distraction," that many would consider a "must read." But I will leave it up to you to draw any parallels with this thread that brought the article to my mind.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...9030602446
Please understand, I am judging nobody. I'm merely sharing info to be thoughtfully considered - from someone who has had experience being heartlessly slandered and sympathized in the media at large.
One never knows what situation we may be caught up in. Lives can change in an instant. And, it's partly why I've come to enjoy fishing so much, it allows me to be grateful for the moment.
Thank you to those that have contributed - and for the reminder of what the right thing to do is.
Be well everyone.
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Dang it, here I am wondering if I hit the wrong "reply" button...
Condolences to the family of that guy. Bet there's no waves on the lake he's kayaking on now.
I wanna say just one thing...when in a lake, stream, pond...whatever...it is DIFFERENT than being in a swimming pool, and I don't care how good of a swimmer you are, you STILL need a floatation of SOME KIND besides your beer belly!!
I'm 50 and almost drown when I was 12. Been around water ever since. I am an EXCELLENT swimmer, and yet will never go "IN" the water without some PFD. No one in my boat (or "with" me on the outing) will DARE attempt to do so either. Training. There is no room for MACHO when you're dead.
The temps don't matter that much either!
Sorry to hear about all the stuff with that guy, especially since I think that was about the time I went to Willard. Even if it wasn't, I was still there between then and now, ewww. Seems every time I go there someone is being looked for that way[:/]. I was there the day they were dredging the N marina for the guy that had the heart attack on the dock, I think that's what it was...
Anyway ...BE CAREFUL and USE YOUR HEAD WHEN IT'S SURROUNDED BY WATER!!
I'm gunna use this time to thank you Pat "TUBEDUDE", you are a gift to this site! THANK YOU !
Hope to meet you some day
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[cool][#0000ff]Good input.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]And thanks for your kindly comments.[/#0000ff]
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[quote TubeDude][cool][#0000ff][/#0000ff][#0000ff]. . . In the warped philosophical state of my current age and degeneration I live by the belief: ANY TIME YOU ASK A QUESTION THAT BEGINS WITH THE WORD "WHY"...AND IT HAS TO DO WITH PEOPLE...THERE IS NOT LIKELY TO BE A GOOD ANSWER.[/#0000ff][/quote]
Sounds like the voice of deep and broad experience . . .[pirate]
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Thanks for posting and there seems to be so much "courage".......or stupidity we sometimes have when it comes to boating safety, but I always always always wear my life jacket, always.
I would just like to be reminded to boat in safety. But I always get brave and take my inflatable out from the bank a ways.
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