After daylong search, missing kayaker turns up 'alive but disoriented'
Photo via MCSO
BRADENTON, Fla. - A missing Manatee County kayaker turned up alive Monday night, hours after his kayak was found half-submerged.
Deputies say it was just before 9 a.m. when a woman called from her Palma Sola Harbour condo to report that her adult son was not at home and a kayak was missing. The man, Peter Hasakis, had left behind his cell phone and wallet.
An hour later, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit found the green kayak half submerged in shallow water about two miles west of Catalina Drive.
Deputies weren't sure if Hasakis fell off of the kayak while out in Palma Sola Bay or if he abandoned it and swam to shore. The spent all day searching for him, with the help of the Coast Guard.
Late Monday night, a sheriff's office spokesman said a resident of the nearby Sunny Shores mobile home park off 115th Street W spotted Hasakis walking through the neighborhood.
Deputies said Hasakis was disoriented and they were getting him medically checked out while trying to figure out just what had happened to him and where he had been all day.