GUERNSEY COUNTY, Ohio — The Guernsey County Coroner’s Office identified the two men who drowned after a kayak capsized on a lake Labor Day weekend.
The men were identified as 53-year-old Thomas Fowler, of Zanesville, and 69-year-old Robert Hurst, of Chillicothe.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said around 2:45 p.m., two men were kayaking by the beach at Salt Fork State Park when one of the kayaks capsized, sending one of the men into the water. The man in the other kayak jumped in to help.
A third person who knew the kayakers saw what happened from the beach and put on a personal flotation device, boarded a kayak that was on the beach and paddled out to help.
That person was unable to rescue the two men.
ODNR officers recovered one of the men right after the incident and the other several hours later.
The drownings remain under investigation.
📺 10TV+ is available for free: Stay up to date on what's happening in your community with a 24/7 live stream and on demand content from 10TV — available on Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV.
📧 Subscribe to the Wake Up CBUS newsletter featuring the best stories, personally curated by members of our staff and delivered via email by 6 a.m., Monday through Friday.