Officials have resumed the search for a 17-year-old kayaker who disappeared in the Shetucket River in Norwich late Sunday night.
Police have identified the missing kayaker as Karl Joseph, a student at Norwich Free Academy.
"As the search resumes with daylight this morning for missing person, Karl Joseph, an eleventh grader at Norwich Free Academy, the entire NFA community holds him, his friends and family in their thoughts and prayer," Norwich Free Academy officials said in a statement Tuesday morning. "Our crisis management team has met and appropriate services and support are available to our students, teachers, and staff."
Police said a witness called around 10 p.m. Sunday to say the teen had fallen from a capsized kayak into the water about 30 feet from shore.
Bystanders tried to rescue Joseph but couldn't find him. Crews later spotted his empty kayak 100 yards north of the Greenville Dam.
Rescuers spent Monday searching the water and the riverbanks north of the 8th Street Bridge, near the dam. The search was postponed over night and resumed after sunrise Tuesday.
Police said Joseph weighs about 200 pounds and stands 5 feet 11 inches tall. He has black hair and brown eyes.
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"He could be anywhere by now, unfortunately," said Norwich resident Candice Riccardi. "That current starts going and he could be all the way, anywhere at this point."
Neighbors described the helplessness and confusion they felt Monday as they watched dive teams search the river for the teen.
Norwich resident Pat Buchert, who has lived in the area for years, said she is shaken to know the teen is still missing and wonders why he was on the water in the first place.
"If you don’t know what you’re doing, you shouldn’t be out there," Buchert said. "But there’s no way of stopping people from doing what they want to do, no more than anything else."
State police are assisting Norwich officers with the search, along with the Norwich Fire Department, Norwich Public Utilities and dive teams from Norwich, Yantic and Taftville.
Anyone with information on Joseph's whereabouts is asked to call Norwich police at 860-886-5561.
