DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — Police have identified the man who died after drowning in a kayak incident in Piqua, the Miami Valley Today reports.
Kyle Ratcliff, 29, was kayaking on the Great Miami River in Piqua, with plans for a family member to pick him up at Treasure Island in Troy.
Just after 5 p.m. on Sunday, the Piqua Police Department was called to the river on reports of an empty boat near the dam, reported the Miami Valley Today. Not long after, the same caller said they saw what appeared to be a body near the kayak.
Officers quickly brought the victim, later identified as Ratcliff, to shore and transported him to a local hospital. According to the Miami Valley Today, the officers hoped the cold water conditions might buy Ratcliff some time.
He was later pronounced dead.
Deputy Piqua Police Chief Marty Grove said Kyle was an experienced duck hunter, and his family said he had kayaked this route before. It is unknown what may have caused the fatal incident at this time.
The Piqua Police Department is continuing to investigate Ratcliff’s death.
