Local rescue personnel search for missing kayaker

Cape Girardeau County sheriff’s deputies and Cape Girardeau Fire and Rescue personnel searched the Mississippi River and Diversion Channel on Wednesday afternoon for a young man in a kayak.

Deputies called off the search at 4:30 p.m. after searching for about two hours.

The sheriff’s department and Cape Girardeau Fire Department used boats during the search. Sheriff’s Capt. David James there was no sign of the man or his kayak.

The mother of the man who was on the river alerted the U.S. Coast Guard her son may be missing. James said the man’s truck, a Dodge 1500, was left just north of the Headwater Diversion Channel public access by the side of the road. James said the truck was unlocked.

Coast Guard units on the Ohio River and in Memphis, Tennessee, were contacted. James said a Coast Guard unit interviewed a witness who saw a man matching a description of the kayaker heading south down the river.

James said law enforcement talked to the mother a second time, and she said her son might try to surprise the family in New Orleans when they are on vacation.

James described the missing man as a survivalist who regularly kayaks on the river.

Pertinent address:

Headwater Diversion Channel Public access, Cape Girardeau, Mo.