Kayaker missing in NH after brothers capsize in early morning trip

CONCORD, N.H. — A kayak trip for two brothers began early Thursday morning. When they both went under, only one made it out safely.

More than 12 hours later, the search was still happening in the Merrimack River near Sewalls Falls.

"It looks still. It's a pretty river to look at," Concord, N.H. Fire Department Chief Daniel Andrus said.

But as the two kayakers learned, the placidity of the surface is no indication of what lies below.

"There are some areas of turbulence, especially at Sewalls Falls where the river gets very rough and while it's also a very popular spot, it can also be a very dangerous spot," Chief Andrus said. "The two kayakers, who are brothers, entered the Merrimack River in the Sewalls Falls Bridge area shortly before 7 a.m. this morning [and] very quickly overturned their kayaks."

The first obstacle rescuers faced was time. Neither brother was carrying a cell phone and the one who made it out of the water walked a trail to get help. In all, about 90 minutes elapsed between the kayaks capsizing and rescuers getting a call for help.

That call came into the Concord Fire Department at about 6:30 a.m. Thursday morning. Local officials were soon joined by rescuers from the state.

For the Concord fire department, the water search was an eery kind of deja vu.

Almost six years ago to the day, a person drowned in the same area of the Merrimack.

"A person who was very well-known, and at the river every day, entered the river to retrieve a piece of garbage that was floating down, lost his footing and drowned there," Chief Andrus said.

The rain made things even more difficult, getting quite heavy at times. Concord firefighters pulled back their efforts, leaving things up to state officials. The search was called off for the night, but is expected to resume Friday morning

Cox Media Group