Man Missing on Lake Washington

Man Missing on Lake Washington

Marine units searched last night for a man missing on Lake Washington. The boat he was in was found, but they did not find the man.

At this point the active search has been called off.

The incident began about 10:30 PM when two men left Ivar’s Restaurant on Lake Union in a 16’ runabout and headed to the east side of Lake Washington. At some point they ran out of gas and drifted north of the 520 Bridge.

The passenger in the boat got into the water, but the wind pushed the boat away from him and he couldn’t swim fast enough to keep up. The boat’s operator, age 49, got into the water with a seat cushion in hopes of helping his friend. But the same thing happened and he couldn’t make it back to the boat.

The man swam for approximately 1½ hours until he reached shore in Kirkland about 12:35 AM and called 9-1-1. Kirkland Police notified the Sheriff's Office and our boat was sent to look for the missing man.

Seattle PD’s Harbor Unit was notified, as was the Mercer Island Marine Unit. Guardian One was launched from Boeing Field.

Guardian One found the boat at 1:25 just north of Juanita Park. No trace of the missing man was found, who was believed to be in his 50’s.

Alcohol may have been a contributing factor in the incident.

Searchers will re-group this morning and decide the next course of action.