Update: Berrien County offiicals confirm the body was Wright’s and that he died of an accidental drowning, with no foul play suspected.
WATERVLIET TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — The father of a kayaker who disappeared in February says a body found in a southwestern Michigan river is that of the missing man.
Joe Wright tells The Herald-Palladium that family members “want to thank all the people that never gave up and consistently searched” for 35-year-old Cory Wright of Niles.
The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office says the body was found Tuesday in Watervliet Township in the Paw Paw River. Authorities as of Thursday morning hadn’t confirmed the identity of the body.
The sheriff’s office has said three people were kayaking on the Paw Paw River on Feb. 27 when two kayaks struck a log. Wright vanished as area waterways were running high due to heavy rain and melting snow that caused flooding in Michigan, Indiana and other Midwest states.
