Wilfredo Cayax, 27, of New Haven, died and Luis Moreno Hectar, 40, of West Haven, was treated for hypothermia after their small plastic canoe capsized in 50-degree water Wednesday night during a fishing trip in New Haven Harbor.
The state Department of Environmental Protection released the men's names Friday.
The two men launched their 6-foot long canoe from the West Haven boat launch around 7 p.m. Wednesday and headed out into the New Haven Harbor, according to the Coast Guard and the New Haven Register.
When they got about a half-mile out into the water, their canoe started taking on water and they made desperate calls to friends for help. That was the last anyone heard from them until this morning.
At 8:45 a.m. Thursday, a search crew from the East Haven fire department saw a Hectar of West Haven, 40, on top of a boat moored about 200 years offshore. He was waving a red T-shirt. The two men tried to swim to safety but only one of them made it to the boat, when he remained overnight.
Hectar was suffering from hypothermia and taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital, Coast Guard Lt. John LaMorte said.
"He said that him and his partner tried to stay on top of the canoe before it went under. They were in the water approximately two hours," LaMorte said. "The guy we recovered said he was swimming toward the boat and lost sight of the guy he was fishing with shortly before he was able to reach the boat."
Local
Cayax's body was found Thursday. His body was found about 100 yards off Sandy Point.
