The body of a New York man whose kayak flipped on Bryant Pond in Woodstock on Sunday has been recovered.
Despite winds gusting over 35 miles and intermittent snow, Maine Warden Service divers recovered Yohanna Milad Israel Rizk, 28, of New York City at about 2:20 p.m. on Monday, said Mark Latti, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Rizk was found in about 40 feet of water, 240 yards from the shore, Latti said.
The divers used side-scan radar and battled wind-driven waves as they hung from ropes pulled by a boat and worked to stay at the bottom of the pond. They were in the water for at least 6 hours, Latti said.
An inexperienced kayaker, Rizk was kayaking about 1:30 p.m. when his kayak flipped, dumping him into 47-degree water. He wasn’t wearing a life jacket and didn’t know how to swim, Latti said.
He attempted to grab onto his kayak before he went under. Two friends who witnessed Rizk’s kayak flipping grabbed kayaks and paddled out to where they last saw him, but found no sign of Rizk, Latti said.
Bryant Pond is in Woodstock in Oxford County.