World · North America · 4 hrs ago
Missing paddleboarder’s body recovered from Okanagan Lake
Kyle Yrjola’s body was recovered from Okanagan Lake after he went missing while paddleboarding on Sept.
22.
Yrjola and his girlfriend, Jaycee Martin, were on the lake near Fintry Provincial Park in British Columbia when strong winds and waves knocked him into the water.
Martin was rescued, but Yrjola could not be found by local search teams and the RCMP.
A volunteer Hutterite team from Manitoba joined the search after the family asked for its help.
HEART used sonar to scan the lakebed and an underwater robot to recover Yrjola at a depth of about 400 feet.
The recovery gave his family some closure after three weeks of uncertainty.
The team’s leader said he hopes law enforcement can get better tools and training for deep-water searches so families do not have to wait for help from another province.
Kyle Yrjola’s body was recovered from Okanagan Lake after he went missing while paddleboarding on Sept. 22.
The Manitoba-based Hutterian Emergency Aquatic Response Team (HEART) located him using sonar and an underwater robotic vehicle.
The team found his body at a depth of about 400 feet (122 metres), according to its search lead, Manuel Maendel.
Yrjola had been paddleboarding with his girlfriend near Fintry Provincial Park when changing weather and large waves separated them.
HEART said the recovery brought some closure to Yrjola’s family after three weeks of searching.
- Who
- Kyle Yrjola, who went missing while paddleboarding, and the volunteer Hutterian Emergency Aquatic Response Team.
- What
- HEART recovered Yrjola’s body from the lake.
- When
- He went missing on Sept. 22; the recovery was reported on Oct. 16.
- Where
- Okanagan Lake, near Fintry Provincial Park in British Columbia.
- Why
- Yrjola went missing after waves separated him from his girlfriend. HEART joined the search after local teams and the RCMP could not locate him.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Yrjola went missing while paddleboarding with his girlfriend near Fintry Provincial Park.
Yahoo News Canada reported that HEART was heading to Okanagan Lake to help search for Yrjola.
HEART said it had located and recovered Yrjola’s body from the lake.
- Missing date
- Sept. 22
- Search team
- Hutterian Emergency Aquatic Response Team (HEART)
- Search lead
- Manuel Maendel
- Recovery depth
- About 400 feet (122 metres)
- Sonar range
- 600 feet (183 metres)
3 sources
What people are saying
They've been in agony for three weeks
With that robot, we're able to grab, hold and recover the body
so that families do not need to wait three weeks or more for a team to come in from another province.
And sure enough, they just came and they just took him from me so fast.