The 29-year-old was reportedly dragged into the water by recirculating waves and did not resurface.
The body of a British kayaker who disappeared in Switzerland has been found, the Guardian reported. It comes two weeks after Bren Orton was reported missing on the Melezza River in the Ticino region of Switzerland. The 29-year-old, based in Warrington, was reportedly dragged into the water by recirculating waves and did not resurface.
A post from his sponsor, Pyranha Kayak, read, ”It is with immense sadness that we announce that our friend and ambassador Bren Orton is no longer with us. It has been reported that Bren’s body was recovered yesterday in Lago Maggiore, Italy, following a tragic accident on the nearby river Melezza on May 16.”
A spokesperson for the Swiss police explained where Mr Orton had gone missing and how he was found. A police spokesperson said on Thursday: ”Shortly before 1 pm in Locarno, the lifeless body of the man who disappeared on 16 May while kayaking in the Melezza was found in the waters of Lake Maggiore. The alarm was triggered by a sailor who found the body in the water and immediately notified the emergency services.”
Mr Orton was a social media influencer who set a world record in 2018 after plunging 128 feet down Big Banana Falls in Mexico. He started kayaking when he was nine years old after discovering his love for the sport during a school trip. He regularly documented his kayaking journeys and travels on Instagram, where he amassed over 58,000 followers. His Insta bio read, ”Trying never to grow up and kayak forever.”
In a 2020 interview, he described kayaking as a ”sport that challenges you on so many levels, provides access to some of the nicest people on the planet and takes a kid from Warrington to Africa in pursuit of the best rapids”.
Following the announcement, hundreds of people have paid tribute to Mr Orton. Former world kayaking champion James Reeves paid tribute to him, writing on Facebook, ”Every few years we seem to lose a friend to our sport. Each loss is tough, and this one cuts deep. Bren Orton was an incredible human. From his teenage years, his warm smile and friendly nature shone as brightly as his kayaking skills … I was privileged to briefly mentor Bren in his early years. Then I watched in awe as he became one of the greatest whitewater kayakers ever.”
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