The Maine Marine Patrol recovered the body of a kayaker who had been missing since his overturned kayak was discovered Sunday near Wood Island at the mouth of the Piscataqua River.
Donald Vardell, Jr., 53 of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was last seen on Sunday preparing to launch his boat at Esther’s Marina in Portsmouth. His empty, capsized boat was discovered at about 2:40 p.m. that day by a recreational boater who reported it, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources.
The body was found by a fisherman at about 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, three miles east of Ogunquit and approximately 12 miles from his kayak. The marine patrol took the body to a local funeral home, officials said.
The U.S. Coast Guard began a search near the island shortly after Vardell was reported missing. It resumed on Monday with assistance from Kittery Police Department, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department and New Hampshire Marine Patrol and continued into Tuesday until the fisherman reported what he found, officials said.