LUCERNE, Calif. – A Lucerne man is missing and presumed drowned after he didn't return from his daily kayaking trip on Monday.
Michael Belhumeur, 68, was reported missing by his niece Monday evening after he hadn't come back from kayaking along the Northshore.
Tracie Dotson told Lake County News that it was her uncle's routine to go out on the lake daily – anywhere from a few to several hours – and return at least an hour or so before it got dark.
He’d recently had a bout of sciatica that sidelined him but was back on his kayak almost every day, she said.
So when she hadn't heard from him Monday afternoon, and found his pickup still parked at the Sandy Beach Trailer Lodge on Highway 20 – where he left it to go kayaking – she became concerned.
Conditions on the lake were choppy and rough the day Belhumeur went missing. Two men had to be rescued from the lake offshore of the city of Clearlake after their canoe capsized Monday afternoon, as Lake County News has reported.
Undersheriff Chris Macedo said the sheriff's office was contacted about Belhumeur's disappearance at about 5:30 p.m. Monday, with a deputy subsequently taking a report.
Sheriff's Marine Patrol went out that same day to begin looking for Belhumeur, encountering rough and windy conditions, with no signs of the missing man found at that point, he said. The search continued Tuesday and then Wednesday.
Dotson herself went out on a boat to try to locate her uncle, but didn't have any luck.
However, on Wednesday Sheriff's Marine Patrol and Search and Rescue located a kayak, life jacket and kayak paddle, Macedo said.
The kayak and other equipment was reportedly found along the shoreline near Ceago Winery, between Lucerne and Nice.
Dotson said she was asked to come and look at the items to see if they were her uncle's.
“It's all his,” she confirmed, noting that she broke down when she saw her uncle’s blue kayak.
Macedo said the California Highway Patrol assisted with the search by flying over the area, but there has been no sign of Belhumeur himself.
“It's presumed he drowned,” Macedo said of Belhumeur.
Dotson said her uncle is experienced on the water, and surfed regularly when he lived in Santa Cruz.
Even with his experience, she said it was possible that he lost his paddle or the boat flipped over on him.
“Something got away from him,” she said.
If the boat did flip, it’s likely that he wasn’t wearing his life jacket. Macedo said Belhumeur kept a life jacket on his kayak but was known to not wear it.
On Thursday, the search was scaled back, Macedo said. The Marine Patrol wasn't searching the lake but sheriff's patrol units were checking areas along the shoreline for signs of Belhumeur's body.
With the lake's temperature at an estimated 47 degrees Fahrenheit, Macedo said Belhumeur's body isn't expected to surface until conditions become warmer.
Northshore Fire Chief Jay Beristianos, whose district has experienced divers, said his agency hasn't yet been called in on the case.
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Authorities search for missing kayaker; boat, equipment found
- Elizabeth Larson
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