Body found in Okanagan Lake confirmed to be 71-year-old missing Kelowna man
Zygmunt Janiewicz disappeared May 17 while kayaking
RCMP and the B.C. Coroners Service have positively identified the body recovered from Okanagan Lake on August 10 as 71-year-old Zygmunt Janiewicz of Kelowna, B.C.
Janiewicz was reported missing on May 17 after not returning from a kayaking outing on Okanagan Lake.
In an obituary posted online Saturday morning in The Daily Courier, his family said he suffered a heart attack while kayaking.
Janiewicz was born in Jaroslaw, Poland, and was in the Polish national kayaking league. He and his family moved to Canada in 1987.
"Zygmunt will be remembered as a proud man, yet with a big heart. He was always honest, always generous. He is survived by his wife and three children. May his soul rest in peace," reads the obituary.
Janiewicz's body was found under 170 feet of water approximately half a kilometre from the shores of Kelowna's Gyro Beach.
After he went missing, an abandoned surf ski — an unpowered boat similar to a kayak — and personal floatation device similar to one he used were discovered on the shore of Okanagan Lake near Watt Road.