On June 9th at 2:10 PM, Olympic National Park was notified of an overturned kayaker on Lake Crescent near the Log Cabin Resort. 37-year-old Travis Valenti from Massapequa, New York was kayaking with his fiancée when his kayak began taking on water. Mr. Valenti attempted to continue paddling but ultimately had to abandon his kayak and entered the water. As Mr. Valenti’s fiancée attempted rescue, her kayak overturned, resulting in her also entering the water. She was able to swim to shore but unfortunately Mr. Valenti struggled and could not. Neither were wearing a life jacket.
Staff from nearby Log Cabin Resort quickly responded with a motorized vessel to Mr. Valenti's last known point but were unable to locate him. On-shore bystanders and Mr. Valenti’s fiancée assisted Rangers and personnel from Clallam County Fire District 2 with identifying the area he was last seen, which was estimated to be more than a quarter mile offshore and roughly 400-500 feet deep. Rangers searched for Mr. Valenti by vessel for more than 2-hours but were unable to locate him. A secondary search of the area and shoreline was also conducted on June 10th without any signs of Mr. Valenti.
Lake Crescent is a deep and very cold body of water with surface water temperatures near 50-degrees this time of year. Sudden immersion into cold water will impact a person’s breathing and over time, their ability to move extremities. Swimmers are encouraged to use a buddy system. Boaters should always wear a life jacket and understand the risks of recreating on large bodies of water, such as underwater hazards, wind, waves, and water temperature.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service