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Kayaker drowns in lagoon
Man found floating face down near barrier reef
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Posted on Oct 04 2021
Teams from the Department of Public Safety’s Boating Safety section set out Saturday morning to continue the search for a man whose kayak was reported capsized at around 2:41pm last Friday afternoon. The man was later found floating face down, near the barrier reef off the coast of the Garapan Fishing Base. (KIMBERLY B. ESMORES)
After nearly two days of search, the Department of Public Safety found the body of the overdue kayaker floating face down near the barrier reef off the coast of Saipan Fishing Base.
According to DPS spokesperson Dre Pangelinan, the man, whose kayak was reported capsized at around 2pm last Friday, was found dead late Saturday morning near the barrier reef of the Saipan Lagoon.
At the scene last Saturday, Saipan Tribune saw DPS Boating Safety send out multiple vessels to search the barrier reef and bring back the body of the deceased to be transported to the Commonwealth Health Center.
The swimmer was initially identified as Juan A. Aldan but DPS has yet to officially release the name of the victim as of press time.
According to information from Pangelinan, DPS Central received a report of a capsized kayak inside the reef across the National Office Supply at around 2:41pm on Friday, Oct. 1. Patrol units and Boating Safety responded to the area. At 2:58pm, a DPS Jet Boat responded from the Smiling Cove Marina and proceeded south to the kayak’s location. At 3:18pm, DPS Jet Boat arrived at the capsized vessel where it was observed that there was no operator in the area.
At around 6:54pm that same day, the search was called off due to low light and continued early the next morning.
A separate news release from the U.S Coast Guard stated that the Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, and DPS coordinated the search. The Coast Guard cutters Munro and Oliver Henry were deployed to assist in the search.
The statement described the kayaker as a 60-year-old male who was last seen fishing at 2pm, Friday.
At 4pm, Friday, Coast Guard Forces Micronesia| Sector Guam watchstanders received a report from Marine Safety Division Saipan stating an overturned kayak had been found off a reef. A small backpack with an identification card was also recovered floating nearby.
