On Sunday, March 5, 2023 at about 1946 hours, the Maricopa County Sheriff''s Office received a report of a man yelling for help near the Roadrunner campground at the south end of Lake Pleasant in Peoria, AZ. Several campers could hear the distressed man in the distance however, due to the darkness they could not see anything. They heard the plea for help for several minutes then it stopped.  MCSO Deputies and helicopter responded along with a Peoria Fire Department boat. 

At about 2043 hours, MCSO Fox helicopter located a capsized inflatable kayak just to the south and east of roadrunner island. The kayak was recovered by the Peoria Fire boat. The MCSO patrol boat arrived on scene and began a search of the area and located several items of interest along the shoreline south and east of the kayak. The items included food, fish bait, fishing bobber, tarp, 1 pair of white nike shoes and a single brown hiking shoe. 

The search was suspended for the evening while additional investigative efforts were being made on land in an attempt to identify the missing person. 

On Monday, after conducting additional interviews at the campground and examining the abovementioned evidence, it was determined there was more than likely two missing subjects.

At about 1430 hours, the MCSO ROV Unit arrived on scene and deployed their underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV). They located the first victim at about 1502 hours near GPS N 33.85238, W 112.28068. That victim was recovered by the ROV then transported to a secured location. The ROV Unit deployed again and located the second victim about 100 feet south of the first victim''s location. He was successfully brought to the surface and then transported to a secure location. Neither decedent''s had any signs of trauma or significant injury. 

An examination of the 2 person inflatable kayak was conducted. The kayak was clean and appeared to be brand new. It was an Intex k2 Explorer inflatable style. It appeared to be properly inflated. It was firm to the touch, all chambers were inflated, including the seats. The kayak measured 10''3" long and 3'' wide. It had approximately 14" freeboard. It is rated for 2 persons totalling 330 pounds and 70 pounds cargo max for a total of 400 pounds. 
OP1’s identification indicates he is 6''6" tall weighing 179 pounds. VICTIM 2 identification indicates he is 5''10" tall and weighing 175 pounds. It is unknown how much gear they had with them. A cooler was not located amongst the debris located.

There was nothing observed during the examination of the inflatable kayak to indicate it was damaged or used improperly. It may have been loaded to the upper limit of its maximum capacity based on the size of the two men. It should be noted two paddles were also recovered and they were fully intact.  

The weather conditions for that evening were calm. At 1930 hours, a gust of wind measured at 6 mph was logged at the nearby flood control weather station. The average wind conditions were 3-4 miles per hour that evening with the outside temperature being 61 degrees and water temperature 55 degrees.

Neither victims were wearing personal floatation devices, nor were any life saving devices located amongst the floating debris along the shoreline. 

It should be noted the water level at Lake Pleasant on the day of the incident was lower than the attached Google Earth Image. The red markers for red cups, shoe, bag of food, tarp etc; were actually located on the shore line and not in the water as they appear in the attached image. 

Nothing further.
LAKE PLEASANT
Peoria, AZ                    