The body of a male kayaker that washed up on Gonzales Beach this afternoon has now been recovered. The B.C. Coroner’s Service later said the man was in his 60s and one report indicated he was a Victoria area resident.
Emergency crews, including VicPD and Oak Bay police officers, combed the beach in the 1800-block of Crescent Road, where VicPD Const. Mike Niederlinski characterized the operation as a “marine incident.”
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“Sometime around 3 p.m. a body was found, washed up on the shoreline at Gonzales Beach,” confirmed Jeff Olsson, maritime search and rescue co-ordinator at the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre.
Olsson said the man was found still wearing a kayak skirt.
“Police were able to ID the individual, and found the owner’s vehicle at the point of departure in Oak Bay Marina,” he added. Officers also went to the man’s residence but no one was home and at the time of the incident he had not been reported missing.
Several Coast Guard vessels also cruised the nearby waters and a Coast Guard helicopter overflew the area to aid in the search but nothing else was found.
The investigation has now been turned over to the Victoria police.
kristyn.anthony@vicnews.com
