A body thought to be that of Jeb Baldwin was found just before 1 p.m. today, washed up on shore at Lake Waccamaw.
Baldwin, 18, disappeared Sunday after a kayak overturned in Lake Waccamaw. Baldwin and two friends were out on the lake when the water turned rough. A tandem kayak with Baldwin and one other person overturned around 11:30 a.m. Sunday, according to Katie Hall of the State Parks.
When the second occupant of the boat went to retrieve their paddles, Hall said, the kayak overturned again. Baldwin, who was wearing boots and heavy coveralls but no personal floatation device, did not resurface.
Hall said the body was found roughly two miles in from the dam side of the lake, along the shoreline.
Lake Waccamaw Police Chief Scott Hyatt was the first person on the scene after one of the survivors called 911.
Search crews began working Sunday afternoon, and continued from dawn until dark until today, when the body was found. At one point, two helicopters, underwater and aerial drones, four large boats with sidescanning sonar and multiple small boats were involved in the search.
When the kayakers left a dock on Lakeshore Drive on Mother’s Day, conditions were windy but not especially dangerous, according to lake residents. A shift in the wind caused the lake to become extremely rough just before the kayak flipped.
Agencies participating in the search included the State Parks; Wildlife Resources Commission; Lake Waccamaw Fire and Rescue; Lake Waccamaw Station 30; Columbus County Sheriff’s Office; Bladen County White Lake Water Rescue; Acme Delco Riegelwood Fire-Rescue; State Highway Patrol; Whiteville Emergency Services; and Columbus County Emergency Management.
