Peninsula Crews Called Off Search for Missing Kayaker in Bay: UPDATED

UPDATE 9 P.M. — The search for a kayaker missing since Tuesday afternoon was called off Wednesday with crews still unable to locate the man, according to a Fremont fire division chief.

The search was called off at about 2 p.m. due to the low tide, which lowered the water level and is preventing boats from accessing the search areas, according to Fremont Fire Division Chief Diane Hendry.

Search teams from multiple agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, began looking for 32-year-old Kenneth Maldonado at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday when the kayak he was in capsized. Maldonado, who wasn't wearing a
life vest, went into the water south of the Dumbarton railroad trestle.

Emergency crews on Tuesday rescued Maldonado's friend, who was in another small boat or raft, and spent hours searching for Maldonado.

A Coast Guard cutter spend the night searching for him and was joined again this morning by additional search teams, but they have not yet been able to locate any sign of him.

---

Original Story as Follows:

MENLO PARK, CA – The search for a missing kayaker who went into the water near the Dumbarton Railroad Trestle Tuesday afternoon went on throughout the night and continues Wednesday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Emergency crews rescued one man Tuesday and spent hours searching for the second victim, identified as Kenneth Maldonado, a 32-year-old man from San Jose.

"The reporting and rescued boater stated that he was in the lead while out on the bay," Menlo Park Fire District officials said in an incident report. "He went to look back at [Maldonado] who was in a Kayak and saw it was upside down, his flotation vest still inside and he could not locate him."

SEE PREVIOUS:

• BREAKING: Kayaker Missing in Bay Near Dumbarton Bridge

The rescued man was in a raft and Maldonado was in a kayak in the waters south of the Dumbarton railroad trestle at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday when the kayak capsized and Maldonado, who wasn't wearing a life vest, went under.

Aircraft were deployed by the Coast Guard and the California Highway Patrol. Menlo Park firefighters and the Fremont Fire Department both used drones to search the shoreline.

Firefighters from Redwood City, San Jose, Santa Clara, Fremont and Alameda County all sent water rescue assets. A total of 13 boats from various agencies and drones were involved in the search, according to Menlo Park Fire Protection District Chief Harold Schapelhouman.

The 87-foot Coast Guard cutter Tern was out all night searching for Maldonado and continued to search the waters in the area Wednesday.

Menlo Fire Air Boat 77 was among the resources requested to assist the Coast Guard in Wednesday's search operations.

– File photo credit: Menlo Park Fire Protection District / Bay City News Service contributed to this report