TMSG: Pro Kayaker Stages Rescue For Missing Kayaker After Search Team Stops

By Morgan Huelsman

October 2, 2020

Corey Lilly saw on Facebook that an empty kayak was floating down a West Virginia River and people were considered for the owner's safety.

As a professional kayaker, Lilly knew exactly where he could find the lost kayaker. The local search and rescue teams had just ended their efforts. So Lilly rallied two of his friends and launched a rescue effort. They went to a spot that Lilly knew would be easily overlooked by rescue teams, a crevice behind a waterfall.

When they got to the spot they thought the lost kayaker may be, they found him alive and wedged on the ledge behind the curtain of the falls. With the help of additional local kayakers who arrived on the scene, the group lowered a rope down to Davis, who clipped it to his harness and was successfully pulled up.

Lilly shared on his Facebook post that the lost kayaker was met with cheers and hugs before being taken to the hospital. He was suffering from hypothermia after spending eight hours behind the waterfall, but is expected to recover.

-Kanawha Falls Accident Report 9/20/20- Sam Davis swam out of his boat around 6pm while paddling the High Flow channel...

Posted by Corey Lilly on Monday, September 21, 2020
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