On Sunday authorities with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources recovered the body of a missing kayaker in Lake Marion. They had begun searching for the angler when another fisherman discovered a swamped kayak Saturday afternoon.
By the following morning, authorities had identified the boat’s owner and used cell phone data to help find where the kayaker may have entered the water. That evening, authorities confirmed a dive team using sonar had recovered the missing kayaker. Orangeburg County coroner Sean Fogle identified the kayaker as Henry Bryant, III, 44, of Summerville. His preliminary opinion is that Bryant died of asphyxia due to drowning.
In the kayak photos shared to Facebook, you can see Bryant’s Vibe Kayaks Sea Ghost 130 partially submerged with lots of gear still strapped down. Among the gear visible is Bryant’s life jacket strapped to the back storage area under a fishing rod. The Orangeburg County Coroner’s Office confirmed with Outdoor Life that Bryant wasn’t wearing one at the time of death.
One of the worst parts about this incident, and others like them, is that there’s a possibility it might have been prevented. While fishing and boating are inherently risky, this shows the importance of wearing your life jacket no matter what vessel you’re in. In 2019, for example, the U.S. Coast Guard identified 613 boating-related deaths and over two thousand injuries. Of these cases, 86 percent of those who died from drowning were not wearing life jackets.
And with the popularity of kayak fishing on the rise, PFD use is more important than ever. Last year alone, a Maryland man drowned while kayak fishing on the Susquehanna River, an Oregon man man died after his kayak collided with a ferry, and a California fisherman died while kayaking near Pacifica. Unfortunately, the list could go on and on.
