CLEVELAND — The Coast Guard ended its search for an overdue kayaker after the man's body was recovered from Lake Erie late Tuesday morning.
Dead is Andrew Lasek.
"The Coast Guard extends our deepest condolences to the families, friends and anyone else affected by this tragedy," said Capt. Brian Roche, commander of Coast Guard Sector Buffalo. "I would like to thank Mr. Lasek's family and friends for providing vital information that aided in the search efforts of the Coast Guard and numerous partners who were involved, including Canadian Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Trenton, Ontario, Lake Erie Towing, Erie County Sheriff's Office, Evans Town Police Department and Hamburg Water Rescue."
Shortly before 8:30 a.m, a crew aboard a 25-foot response boat from Coast Guard Station Erie, Pennsylvania, located an unoccupied, capsized blue kayak and fishing gear about 3.5 nautical miles north of Sturgeon Point, New York. Crews then commenced additional searches of the area.
Just before 11 a.m., the crew of a local commercial salvage vessel that was assisting in the search located the man in the water within the search area with a life jacket under one arm.
The man was recovered and transferred to a Coast Guard Station Buffalo, New York, 45-foot response boat with EMS aboard. At about 11:10 a.m., EMS pronounced Lasek deceased.
Involved in the search were: Coast Guard Station Buffalo; Coast Guard Station Erie; Coast Guard Air Station Detroit; Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the Royal Canadian Air Force; Erie County Sheriff's Office; Erie Marine One; Evans Town Police Department; Hamburg Water Rescue; and Lake Erie Towing.
The search covered more than 1,300 square nautical miles. There are no photos or video of the search.