On 7/17/11 at approximately 4:00pm a boating accident occurred on pinnacle watershet which is located in stokes county near pinnacle off high bridge road's 1900 block.  A one man kayak which was propelled by oars capsized in the deep portion of the small watershed approximately 1400 feet due south of the dirt access area.  The vessel was owned and operated  by the victim.  His wife was in another kayak nearby when he capsized.

The two had been fishing and paddling around since about 1:45pm.  As they started their return to their vehicle, victim began to paddle faster in order to catch up to her.  She was 15-20 feet in front of him.  She heard a splash and turned to see victim's kayak had capsized and could tell that he was struggling to remove himself from the vessel.  Wife exited her kayak to assist her husband.  By the time she got to his vessel, he had worked himself free of his kayak.  wife stated that he had always kept himself in good shape, but at that moment he seemed really tired and was choking from breathing in water.  He was worried about righting the kayak and gathering personal items.  Since both pfds were stored near the front of each kayak, both had to depend on their swimming skills.  Wife swam back to her kayak to retrieve a pfd for her tiring and confused husband.  As she swam back toward him she saw him go under the surface of the water.  She attempted to help him surface but he had become frantic and was grabbing at her while under water.  Wife is a small stature woman and victim was a much larger man.  Wife dove down several times before deciding to go for help.  She approached a lakeside home and summoned someone who immediately dove into the water and swam to the kayaks.  He reportedly searched the area making multiple dives until rescue crews arrived.  The search for victim ended on 7/19/11 at approximately 2:30pm when his body was recovered using k0s.  No foul play was detected at the scene, but an autopsy will follow.

Neither victim wife were wearing pfds.  Neither had received any type of boating safety education or any instruction in righting a capsized kayak.  Inexperience as well as panic were two contributing factors in victim's death.
PINNACLE                      