Kayaker lost in flood waters of Paw Paw River, near Watervliet, MI (WNDU online article)

Further information at NILES STAR online (www.leaderpub.com/) :

WATERVLIET — Police have identified the name of the man who went missing on the Paw Paw River Tuesday Feb. 27, 2018.

Authorities are continuing their search for Cory Wright, 35, of Niles. Wright was kayaking with two other individuals on the Paw Paw River, near 4265 R. Smith St., when he and another kayaker struck a log in the river. One individual was able to swim to shore and the second, Wright, is currently missing. Police received a 911 call about the incident about 7:44 p.m. Tuesday. The third kayaker was not in any danger and able to make it to shore safely.

Berrien County Sheriff’s Lt. Martin Kurtz advised that he is leading the search Thursday.  The water level is higher and the water is swift.  Kurtz said the area they are searching ranges from 3 to 12 feet.

www.wndu.com/

Cory Wright,35 of Niles, Michigan --

Police

said three people were kayaking on the Paw Paw River near Smith Street in Watervliet

Tuesday night February 27, 2018 when the man went missing.

At about 7:45 p.m., two of the kayaks hit a log in the river and all three men were thrown from the kayaks.

Officials said swift waters are to blame for the incident.

"One guy was able to get his kayak through the log jam and made his way to shore," said Dan Jones the Chief of the Watervliet Fire Department. "The other one swam to shore and the third one is still missing."

Right now the search is being conducted on private property so news crews are unable to get pictures and video of the rescue efforts.

"With the river being out of its banks there's a lot of entanglements and the channel that has the highest flow in it is pretty narrow," said Jones. "So he would have had to remain in that channel in order to get farther down the river."

The investigation stretches as far down the Paw Paw river as the western end of Coloma. Officials said the fast-moving water is impacting their man power.