Two brothers each rented a 12' stand-up paddleboard (SUP) to use on Lake Washington from Perfect Wave rental company at Houghton Beach.  Before being released an employee at Perfect Wave asked if either had paddleboarded before and if each could swim.  Operator replied that he had paddleboarded before and was able to swim.  The employee then provided each with a board, paddle, and an inflatable belt type pfd for their use.  The employee gave instructions on how to use the PFD.

Once on the water Operator and Brother paddled north on the lake towards downtown Kirkland.  The water was choppy with waves up to 2 feet, and both paddlers fell off the boards multiple times while paddling.  When they got to the Kirkland Marina they stopped remained on the water and took a break on their boards.  After their break they headed back to Houghton Beach.  The water was still choppy, so they were on there knees paddling.  Brother was appoximately 20 yards ahead of Operator.  When Brother looked back he saw that Operator had fallen off his board and was treading water, he thought Operator would be OK as they had both fallen off several time before.  This time Operator yelled for help.  

Brother turned around and began paddling towards Operator.  Operator was approximately 15 yards from the dock and 15 yards from his board, Brother was unable to tell to which Operator was trying to swim to.  It appeared that Operator was treading water but there was a current.  Brother paddled towards Operator and grabbed his board.  Brother was 5 feet away when Operator bobbed underwater, his head popped back up, then went completely underwater, and did not resurface.  

Brother paddled to the dock and began looking for Operator from the dock.  A neighbor came out with some goggles and dove into the lake and was able to reach Operator.  Another neighbor took the paddleboard back out and helped hoist Operator onto it.  Once they got to the dock they began CPR as they waited for help to arrive.  Operator was transported to the hospital and was later pronounced dead.

The King County Sheriff's Office investigators examined Operator's inflatable PFD belt pack and were able to inflate it and determined that it was in good working order.

Kirkland                      