A Bethesda man is presumed dead after his kayak flipped earlier this month near Bainbridge Island in Washington state’s Puget Sound, authorities said.
Turner Jenkins, 31, was visiting family in the Pacific Northwest and went kayaking with another man in an area known for its choppy waters, according to Bainbridge Island, Washington police.
The men were not wearing life jackets and the other man, who was not identified, was able to swim to shore after their kayak capsized about 7 a.m. on Jan. 18, Bainbridge Police Detective Erik Peffer said.
Rescuers from the Bainbridge Island Fire Department, the Coast Guard and Navy searched for Jenkins for several days, Peffer said.
The Coast Guard suspended its search last week, a spokesman said.
Two others – a boater and a diver — have died in the last five years off the southern end of Bainbridge Island, where the water is up to 180 feet deep in spots, Peffer said. Average January water temperatures are in the mid-40s, according to weather records for the area.
Jenkins graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in 2005, a Montgomery County Public Schools spokesman said.
It took authorities several days to confirm that Jenkins was from Bethesda and Peffer said he was planning to move to the Bainbridge area and had been looking for a job.
Peffer said there are no signs of foul play.
