Kayaker’s body found near where he vanished 3 weeks ago, NC sheriff says

The search for a kayaker who disappeared last month in North Carolina’s Roanoke Rapids Lake has come to an end with the discovery of a body, according to officials in Halifax County.

Angel Martinez was located on Saturday “near where he was last seen the night of May 14,” the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office said in a June 6 news release.

“Martinez and a friend were kayaking near the Fifth Street boat landing when the single kayak began to take on water and the two were separated. A resident in the area heard screaming and called 911,” the sheriff’s office reports.

“Responders .... rescued one of the kayakers, but Martinez could not be found. Responders were unsure of how long the two were in the water due to the hypothermic nature of the friend that was rescued.”

The kayaker who was rescued credited Angel Martinez with saving his life. “The male advised that he had been in a kayak with another male, who had given him his life jacket,” Gaston Fire & Rescue reported in a May 16 Facebook post. “He was found holding onto a life vest.”

Gaston Fire & Rescue says drones, hull-mounted side scan sonar, towable sonar, underwater ROV, and cadaver dogs were used during the search for Martinez.

Roanoke Rapids Lake covers about 4,600 acres and is about a 100-mile drive northeast from downtown Raleigh.