kayakers recovered from White River after weeklong search
by: Michaela Springer, Kyla Russell and Gregg Montgomery
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The body of one of two missing kayakers was found in the White River near downtown Indianapolis on Monday morning.
On Monday night, a second body, believed to be the other kayaker, was found on the river near West 10th and Porto Allegre streets. That’s just southwest of the West 10th Street bridge over the White River near downtown.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has identified the kayaker’s body found Monday morning as 22-year-old Solomon Shirley. Officials identified the other missing kayaker as 30-year-old Marcus Robinson, reportedly Shirley’s cousin. On Monday night, the identity of the second body found had not been confirmed.
Online police reports show that Indianapolis Fire Department crews were called to the 600 block of North White River Parkway West Drive around 9:34 a.m. Monday for a dive rescue. That’s right off West Michigan Street in the Haughville community west of Eskenazi Hospital.
Angela Goldman with the Department of Natural Resources told News 8 that crews recovered Shirley’s body after a passerby saw it in the river around 10:24 a.m. Monday.
“It was a passerby that saw him in the river and we were able to respond very quickly and get him out of the water and get him identified,” Goldman said.
The two kayakers went missing Tuesday. A 911 caller reported seeing the kayakers capsize near the Belmont Beach area and not resurface.
Goldman says the two men were kayaking on the river during flooding, paddled too close to the dam, and were swept over.
They were then ejected from the kayaks and did not resurface.
First responders arrived at the scene around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, and later spotted two empty kayaks floating south of the train tracks near the river bank. Goldman says crews had been looking for the men since Tuesday.
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