CLALLAM COUNTY, Wash. — The body of a New York man who drowned while he was kayaking earlier this month was recovered from Lake Crescent on Wednesday.
On June 9, 37-year-old Travis Valenti of Massapequa was kayaking with his fiancée that afternoon when his boat began taking on water. He tried to keep paddling but eventually had to abandon the boat and went into the water.
When his fiancée tried to help, her kayak also overturned, and she went into the lake as well. She was able to make it back to shore, but Valenti struggled and did not.
After a two-day search, his body was not found.
On Wednesday, members of Christian Aid Ministries, a non-profit organization from Berlin, OH, began searching the lake using boat-mounted sonar technology.
Once they believed they had found the body, they contacted Olympic National Park and two rangers were dispatched in a boat to meet the group on the lake.
The group then used a remote-operated vehicle (ROV) to find Valenti’s body at a depth of 394 feet. A grabber tool on the ROV brought the body to the surface, and it was put aboard a National Park Service boat and then brought ashore.
According to the park, the lake is deep and very cold, with surface water temperatures near 50 degrees at this time of year.
Cold water shock can affect a person’s breathing and ability to move. Read more about the dangers of cold water at this link.
©2023 Cox Media Group
